Invisible
by foraworldundeserving
Summary: "Do you know how many gay teenagers get bullied to the point of killing themselves? If I hadn't met Blaine, that would probably be me right now. You'd all probably be at my funeral, if you cared enough to come." Non-canon. Klaine-centric.
1. Kurt

**The idea for _Invisible_ comes from Chapter 58/59 of my prompt story _Kiss_, and is the eventuation of this prompt: **_**Charlotte -LOVE-: I've always really (REALLY) wanted to read one set in Never Been **__**Kissed or The Subsitute when ND don't know about Blaine and then he comes into t**__**he choir room to pick Kurt up for coffee and they kiss and all of ND are like **__**'whaaaa-' 'who's he?' 'WHY IS KURT KISSING A WARBLER?' etc.**_

**Now, I wrote the oneshot very differently to the prompt and I got a LOT of feedback telling me to continue this, many people really wanting to see a chapter story from this. Now, I'm hectic right now. As well as looking for a job and working on a journalism short course, I am currently writing: _Kiss, Stalker, Sail, Edge of Glory, Facebook Or It Didn't Happen, Hiccups, The Glee Times _and _Rites of Passage, _as well as a second chapter on _The Drunken Ramblings of Blaine Anderson _and various other oneshots that are either prompted as spinoffs of _Kiss_ or just come to mind. So you think I wouldn't really take on any other projects, right? Well, against my better judgement, I'm going to put some work into this.**

**I can't promise frequent updates. But I can at least give you a few chapters here and there, right?**

**This chapter is the original chapter from _Kiss_, then from there we'll start getting into the chapter segments. Basically, what will happen after this will be focusing on the various people who are featured in this story and their reactions. I'm trying not to give too much away for those who didn't find this through _Kiss_, so I'll explain in the bottom note :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Friday.<strong>

Kurt sighed, staring at his phone as Mr. Schuester rambled on about Regionals outfits. He had already learned not to give his input during these sessions as nobody understood his fashion sense, instead choosing to keep quiet. In fact, the past few weeks of rehearsals and meetings, Kurt had stopped fighting for solos or even trying to sing. Come to think of it, Kurt hadn't said a word in a Glee meeting for the past three weeks. Nobody noticed.

Kurt was used to being either ignored or hated at McKinley. He didn't fit in with any of the groups in New Directions - the guys shunned him because he was feminine, the girls didn't know how to treat him because he wasn't a girl. So he slipped between the cracks and became just a person to give them enough numbers to get to Regionals.

Outside of Glee, he was hated for who he was, and the hatred was growing. Every day seemed to bring some kind of physical abuse which was worsening by the day, and nobody noticed. Even when Kurt entered the choir room limping or holding his arm against his chest as he had been yesterday, nobody noticed.

So Kurt found himself spending most of the rehearsal time playing games on his phone or texting Blaine.

A smile crossed Kurt's face as he thought of the curly-haired Warbler. Ever since he had visited Dalton, he and Blaine had been spending a lot of time together and Kurt had found himself falling fast. Maybe it was a combination of Blaine being the only other gay guy he knew or the only person who paid attention to him nowadays, but Kurt had developed a crush rather quickly.

This time, though, instead of staying as a crush, Kurt's feelings for Blaine had continued to grow, far beyond anything else he had felt before. He wasn't naive enough to call it love yet but he certainly felt something strong for one Mr. Blaine Anderson.

And, as of last week, Kurt had been delighted to find out that Blaine felt the same.

* * *

><p>"<em>So, is this like a date?"<em>

_Kurt turned his head to stare at Blaine who was leaning back against the windshield. "I - do you want it to be?"_

_Blaine turned to him, shifting slightly on the car bonnet as the movie played on. "I think I do."_

_Kurt smiled. "Then yes. Absolutely."_

* * *

><p>At the end of the night, Blaine had walked him to the door and kissed him on the cheek and they had made it official. Boyfriends.<p>

The word still sent a shiver down Kurt's spine. He had never had a boyfriend, and neither had Blaine, so they were making the choice to take things slowly, especially with Kurt's current situation. He just needed to know that someone cared about him, and Blaine was more than willing to be there for Kurt whenever.

"Okay, I want to introduce next week's topic now so you can think about it over the weekend. We're going to be singing about admissions."

Kurt broke out of his thoughts and lifted his head slightly to look at Mr. Schuester who had finally stopped talking outfits. "I'm going to pair you all up and we're going to work on duets that revolve around honesty and sharing things about yourself. Male/female pairings, and let's shake it up a bit so we don't have the same ones as usual."

He moved to the board and began to write.

**Rachel/Artie**

**Mercedes/Puck**

**Tina/Sam**

**Santana/Mike**

**Brittany/Finn**

**Quinn/Mr. Schuester**

He capped the lid on his pen and turned back to the group as the bell rang. "I'm looking forward to getting in on this one as well! Okay, plan to meet up with your partner sometime next week and we'll start hearing duets from Tuesday. Quinn, why don't you come and see me on Monday during lunch?" The group of teenagers began to head out of the room chattering about their assignment, Mr. Schuester grabbing his papers together and following.

Nobody noticed Kurt still sitting there, staring at the board with his mouth open.

_He totally forgot me._

Kurt felt the tears begin to build as he quickly stepped up to the board. Taking a photo with his phone, he sent it to Blaine before sitting down on the floor, leaning against the piano leg and taking deep breaths. _I really am invisible here._

Less than a minute later, his phone began to ring and he answered wordlessly, putting the phone to his ear and waiting.

"Kurt." And there was so _much_ in that word - empathy, sadness, regret, understanding - that Kurt burst into tears. Blaine was murmuring softly on the end of the line as he sobbed out all of his hurt.

Finally, Kurt calmed himself down. "I'm sorry, Blaine, I just -"

"Kurt, you have _no reason_ to apologize. That was incredibly wrong of him to do and I'm so sorry it's so rough for you right now. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Kurt looked back up at the list, an idea forming in his mind. "Actually, yes. Can you come over tomorrow?"

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday.<strong>

"That was excellent, guys! Tina, your voice complemented Sam's perfectly, well done. Though I can assure you both, neither of you fade into the background around here, and I'm glad you know you're not alone. Everybody here has your backs."

The rest of the club murmured in agreement as the two sat down, Mike immediately leaning over to kiss his girlfriend. Kurt suppressed a sigh. _As if they think they aren't noticed, _he thought to himself.

As Rachel began to give her feedback, Kurt felt his phone buzz and pulled it out.

_How are the duets going? - Blaine x_

Kurt smiled, knowing Blaine only put the _x_ at the end of texts sent to him. Just another way of making Kurt feel special.

_Same old thing. Tina and Sam just sang 'Not Alone' trying to emphasize the fact that they often feel like nobody notices them, but they know that in Glee people care. Isn't that lovely? - Kurt x_

He knew Blaine would appreciate his sarcasm, especially after yesterday's rehearsal where Kurt had called Blaine and kept him on the phone to listen in. Blaine had been outraged that Quinn and Mr. Schuester would sing a song about taking their rejection and using it to accept others when they completely ignored Kurt's questions only two minutes later.

_Mm. Those poor souls. Looking forward to Friday? I miss you - Blaine x_

_Of course, can't wait. I miss you too - Kurt x_

The bell rang and Mr. Schuester held up a hand to stop them from leaving. "Now, before we go, I was looking over the partners and I realized something. Kurt, I forgot to partner you up with someone."

Now the eyes of the club were on him, many with a faint surprise as if thinking, _oh, right, Kurt's still a part of this club._

Kurt was also surprised. _Wow, he actually realized something. Congratulations to him._

"You did," he said evenly, staring straight into his teacher's eyes. "I'll be performing my duet on Friday."

"Who with?" Rachel asked, looking around at the other members who shrugged. Kurt just raised an eyebrow, looking bored.

"Why didn't you say anything about it?" Mr. Schuester's attention was firmly on him for the first time in weeks, and Kurt had had enough of it already.

"What would it matter?" Kurt got to his feet, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "You never hear me anyway." With that, he walked out of the room, ignoring his teacher calling after him as he pulled out his phone.

_You aren't going to believe this..._

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday.<strong>

".. no, I think it's just a bruise."

Kurt poked his arm again experimentally and winced at the huge purple-blue mark that had already spread across his wrist.

"Okay. You alright?"

Blaine's worried voice travelled down the phone which Kurt had pressed between his shoulder and ear. "Yeah. Just wish I'd ducked in time."

"You shouldn't have to duck." Kurt sighed, knowing it was true.

"There's nothing I can do right now," Kurt took the phone back in hand, grabbing his things together as he made his way out of the bathroom. "Look, I've got Glee now. I'll call you after and let you know how sympathetic they were and how they all promised to do something about it."

Now it was Blaine's turn to sigh. "I'll come over this afternoon and check on you. I'm sorry, Kurt."

"Me too." Kurt stepped into the empty room, dropping his bag next to his usual seat in the back row and sitting down. "I'll talk to you later."

He hung up as the first of the Glee kids made their way into the room, sitting down and talking about various weekend plans and parties that Kurt knew nothing about and would never get invited to. He poked the giant bruise again, hissing through his teeth at the sharp sting that travelled up his arm. _Surely someone's going to notice this time..._

"Mercedes! What happened?"

Suddenly the entire club were converging on a dripping wet Mercedes who had walked in the door. "I got slushied again," she said, dropping her bag to the ground as the girls engulfed her in a hug, murmuring nonsensical words of comfort while the guys cracked their knuckles threatening, waiting for a name so they could go beat the guy up.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the group, then picked up his bag and walked out. He couldn't take this hypocrisy for much longer.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday.<strong>

"_I thought you felt it too,_

_When there was me and you."_

The group exploded in applause as Rachel bowed before hugging Artie. Finn looked uncomfortable and Quinn looked angry. Brittany just looked confused, Santana whispering in her ear reassuringly. (1)

"Brilliant as always, you two. We should pair you up for duets more often!" Mr. Schuester made his way to the middle of the floor as Rachel and Artie resumed their seats. "And wonderful honesty in those lyrics, though I'm a bit surprised it was _High School Musical..._" A couple of the teenagers chuckled as he turned and ticked the last set of names off the board.

"Okay! Well, that's it for duets, guys. You've all really captured this week's -" He broke off as a cough came from Kurt and looked up.

"Oh, Kurt. Of course, why don't you come down and show us your ... duet?"

Kurt stood with as much grace as he could muster and made his way to the floor. "Thank you Mr. Schuester." He turned to face the rest of New Directions.

"Fellow Glee club members. You've all had a chance to reveal the things about yourself that were _painfully _obvious anyway, now it's my turn to share something that should be equally as obvious but somehow isn't. But since it's a duet, I couldn't very well do it alone."

Kurt turned to the door. "Blaine?"

An angry murmur broke out as Blaine walked through the door, clad in his Dalton uniform. Rachel was on her feet instantly. "Mr. Schue, we can't allow this! He's the competition!"

Mr. Schuester raised a hand in her direction, staring at Blaine and Kurt who had positioned themselves in front of the piano. "Kurt? Why do we have a Dalton Academy boy here?"

"_I _have a Dalton Academy boy here because he's helping me with my duet," Kurt explained as if it should be obvious. Which, really, it _should_.

"Kurt, I don't know if I can allow this -"

"Mr. Schuester. You lost the right to tell me what to do about three weeks ago when you started ignoring my very presence in this room. I'm going to sing this duet with Blaine." He turned back to the rest of the group, speaking smoothly over their objections. "This is Blaine. You've all come to the very astute observation that he's from Dalton. Blaine is the lead soloist for the Dalton Academy Warblers."

"WHAT!" Rachel was out of her seat, striding down to where Blaine was standing and poking him in the chest. "You are NOT ALLOWED to be here!"

Kurt sighed before grabbing the girl's arms and marching her back to her seat, wincing at the pain this action caused. "Rachel, sit down and shut up, would you?"

He returned to where Blaine was standing, smiling briefly at his boyfriend before turning to the group again. "Anyway, since Blaine appears to be the only person around here that still recognizes that I exist, he volunteered to duet with me today to help me talk about a particularly important topic."

He felt Blaine's hand slip into his, a silent facet of support. "For the past few weeks, I've been getting bullied worse than ever before. In fact, I should let you all know that Blaine forced me to the doctor yesterday to get me checked out, and it turns out that this time I've got a sprained wrist and a couple of broken ribs." There were gasps from the group and Kurt saw Mercedes cover her mouth in shock. "You know, on top of all the bruises, cuts and various wounds that I've been sporting _every single day_ when I walk in here. The ones you've all commented on with great sympathy and concern? Yeah, those."

Blaine squeezed his hand as he watched the tears start running down a couple of the girl's faces. Kurt refused to break under their emotion. "You all come in here and sing about acceptance and how no matter what happens out there," he gestured to the open door, "we're a family in here. Well I've spent the past three weeks in silence to see what would happen. And you know what happened? Nothing."

He turned to Blaine, allowing his boyfriend to speak. "I met Kurt when the boys from this group told him to go and 'do something useful' and check out the competition. When he broke down and admitted what was going on to me, I was horrified. Not just that he was being bullied - and not just verbally but _physically_ - but that nobody seemed to understand or care. I immediately asked him what the teachers were doing. His answer? Nothing."

As Blaine stared down Mr. Schuester, Kurt picked back up. "This week was the final straw. You've all sung your admissions and about honesty, now it's my turn. Except _we're_ going to sing the song that you all should be singing to _me_."

He turned to grab a guitar, handing it to Blaine who slung it over his head and began to strum, taking the first few lines.

"_Just to say we're sorry_

_For the black eyes and bleeding lips_

_When it's hard to forget_

_How many lies we told."_

Kurt joined him, staring impassively into the audience.

"_Or how we've grown_

_Before I said goodbye,"_

Kurt allowed himself a sardonic smile at these words. _Not that they know that yet..._

"_I never listened to a word,_

_You never said,_

_I never listened to a word,_

_You never said."_

A couple of the guys were looking at Kurt guiltily, Finn in particular. The girls were all in tears as they stared at the two boys singing.

"_Wasting the hours now,_

_And we're all suckers for tragedy,"_

Kurt smirked at the group, knowing how they felt about their drama - pretty little things that they thought were important in the long run like Prom candidacy and being labelled by other ignorant teenagers. He focused particularly on Rachel, knowing that his gaze was stinging her and took a vindictive satisfaction from the way she cringed.

"_We'll start this over again,_

_And you'll bring us to our knees,"_

And he was. Finally, slowly and painfully, this group of teenagers were realizing what harm they'd caused. But it was too late.

Kurt stepped towards Blaine slightly as he turned to face Kurt, taking the second chorus for himself to send a message of reassurance. Not just for Kurt's sake, but to show the club what _they_ should have been doing for Kurt all along.

"_It's not your fault, you feel okay,_

_It's too late in the day,_

_It's not your fault, you feel betrayed,_

_And you can't come out to play,"_

Kurt's voice joined Blaine's again as they broke into the bridge.

"_So raise your hands up high,_

_And let this rain pour on,_

_So raise your hands up high,_

_And wash us away."_

Blaine stepped back and allowed Kurt to sing the next few lines on his own.

"_Like innocence, and childbirth,_

_You look just like your mother,"_

And this was the only point where Kurt felt choked up, thinking of his mother. But he pushed past that, because there was no changing the past. Only the future, and this was the first step.

"_And you look just like your father,"_

He turned back and looked at Blaine who stepped forward again to help him with the final lines, their voices mixing together in perfect harmony.

"_Forgive him, our Father_

_Your Son is smiling_

_So lay roses around you."_

They finished the song facing one another and, completely overwhelmed by the moment, Kurt leant in and kissed him.

There were soft gasps echoing around the room and Kurt knew he was driving the nail into the coffin. Now for the final blow -

Kurt pulled away, whispering "We'll talk about that later," to his boyfriend before turning to the group.

"That song could have been my suicide song." He saw a good chunk of the group flinch, to his grim satisfaction. "Do you know how many gay teenagers get bullied to the point of killing themselves? If I hadn't met Blaine, that would probably be me _right now_. You'd all probably be at my funeral, if you cared enough to come or even noticed I was gone."

Finn broke, dropping his head into his hands as a sobbing Quinn tried to comfort him.

"Instead, it's my goodbye song. Half an hour ago, my transfer papers were filed and, as of Monday, I will be a student at Dalton Academy."

"Kurt... you can't -"

"Yes, he can." Kurt felt Blaine step up beside him again, taking his hand. "You've had your chance to treat Kurt right and be his friend, to be there for him when he needed you. You _all_ failed him, every single one of you. So he's going to come to an environment where he'll be safe and cared about and loved."

Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat because they'd never said _love_ before. But looking into Blaine's face, he knew it was true.

"Goodbye, McKinley. We'll see you at Regionals."

With that, they turned, Kurt smiling as Blaine squeezed his hand. They walked out, Kurt leaving behind his past, never to look back.

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><p><strong>(1) Santana and Brittany are an item, Brittany broke up with Artie and he's still heartbroken. Rachel... well, of course she'll always be after Finn.<strong>

**So, now that you've read it, what will happen from here will be the reactions of people to Kurt's declaration. But before we get into the aftermath of this, we've got two very important people to talk to prior to this story...**


	2. Blaine

**Something important to address, it seems, before I go on. For anybody who didn't come to this story from _Kiss_, I apologize because I did leave something very important out of my last authors note that I put in the _Kiss _authors note. **

**This fic is AU. Very AU. I am well aware that Kurt's experiences at McKinley were not as bad as I have written them. This is myself letting my creative licence out to play, something I believe I am entitled to as a FanFiction author. So I could get annoyed and start calling out on comments that were made, but I'm going to leave it for now because it was my mistake for not mentioning that too. Just to make it perfectly clear from now on: This fic does not follow the proper events during the first part of Season Two. So anybody who feels the need to tell me this from now on, I do already know and have written the fic in that manner intentionally. **

**Though there is one comment I do want to address, about how the reaction from ND was probably a bit over the top after Kurt finished singing the song and walked out. I don't know about you, but if I found out that someone who was a part of something I considered a _family _had been wanting to kill themselves, had been bullied to the point of broken bones, and I hadn't noticed, I'd be _damn _upset with myself. And that's how I wrote it.**

**So this chapter takes place before the events of the previous chapter. There'll be one more like this and then we'll get into the aftermath.**

**For the sake of the fic, the place where Blaine, Wes, David and Kurt are having coffee is a part of Dalton. And ****I'm not going to do their whole progression through to the first part of ****the previous chapter****, just their first meeting. We know what happens next.**

* * *

><p><strong>Blaine.<strong>

Blaine frowned, staring at the boy across from him who was gripping his coffee cup, his knuckles turning white. He gestured to Wes and David, the two immediately realizing what was going on and moving away. Blaine turned back to Kurt, not entirely sure how to go about talking to him. It was clear that Kurt was struggling with bullying problems, and Blaine would have just talked it out if he hadn't seen two vital things; the way Kurt was sitting, his back slightly arched away from the chair as if he was in pain; and, as he had reached for his coffee, the edge of a bruise that had peeked out from under his sleeve.

"Kurt, can you tell me what's going on at your school?" Blaine did his best to keep his tone friendly and light, but Kurt still tensed up further, ducking his head. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not going to push it, but I just want to know that you're safe."

There was silence, then a quiet response. "I'm not."

Blaine bit his lip, his suspicions confirmed. He wanted to reach across the table and take Kurt's hand, but he knew that physical bullying meant Kurt would most likely shy away from any kind of touch. "Okay." He took a deep breath, knowing that there was only one way to get Kurt to talk.

"I've been there too."

Kurt's eyes shot up and Blaine could see the glimmer of unshed tears in them, as well as the shock on his face. "Y - you have?"

Blaine nodded. "That's why I'm here, at Dalton. I know what it's like to be in an unsafe environment. I just need to know, Kurt, how bad is it?"

He couldn't tell whether he'd pushed too far or not. Kurt's eyes had dropped back to the table and his death grip on his coffee cup hadn't lessened. Blaine just picked up his own cup and waited, hoping Kurt would end up talking.

"They've been bullying me for years, but there's one in particular who seems to want to make my life a living hell. And as time's gone by, he's gotten more and more violent and the others have followed his lead. It used to just be dumpster tosses and slushies, but now they shove me into lockers, trip me in the halls... and that's just the stuff they do when there's people around to witness it." Kurt's words rushed out and Blaine knew with a certainty that he hadn't told anybody else about this.

Kurt hesitated for a moment before rolling up his sleeve. Blaine choked back the gasp that threatened to escape, then held out his hand, keeping a good couple of inches between himself and Kurt. "May I?"

There was the moment of hesitance, before Kurt allowed Blaine to take his hand. Blaine moved it gently, twisting slightly to see the full extent of the deep purple bruise in the shape of a hand. "How did this one happen?" he asked, still keeping his voice light and gentle even though all he wanted to do was get out there and find the idiots who were hurting this _angel _and make them pay.

"Karofsky - the leader - found me walking out after Glee one afternoon on my own. He grabbed me and sh-shoved me up against the wall and I didn't know what he was going to do - and I don't think he did either because he just stood there for a minute before shoving me again and leaving." Kurt's voice was cracking and Blaine knew he was close to breaking down. Standing, he gestured to Kurt to follow and led him into the choir room which was mercifully empty.

"Your back, how bad is it?"

Kurt stared at him for a moment as if weighing up his options, then turned and lifted the back of his shirt.

This time, Blaine couldn't hide the gasp. Kurt's back was scratched and bruised with what was clearly at least weeks of physical bullying taking its toll on his skin. The freshest wound, clearly from being pushed up against the wall, was an angry red and Blaine bit his lip. "You've never had these checked out, have you?"

Kurt shook his head, lowering his shirt but keeping his back to Blaine. He heard a sniff and knew Kurt had finally succumbed to his tears. "I'd offer you a hug, but if you're anything like I was, you won't want it." Kurt shook his head again and Blaine put a hand on his shoulder gently, guiding him over to a couch and sitting him down.

"It's alright. Let it out."

And that was all Kurt needed. Tucking his knees up, he curled into a ball and began to sob. Blaine just sat silently, wishing there was more he could do but thinking over what he could. Forcing Kurt to talk about his problems with someone wasn't going to work, and there was no way Blaine was going to tell him to stand up to someone who was beating him up every day. As Kurt's sobbing eased to quiet crying, Blaine knew all he could do was be a friend to Kurt and hope that, in time, he could get Kurt to open up to him and to someone who could help.

Kurt lifted his head, wiping at his eyes and looking embarrassed. He opened his mouth to speak but Blaine beat him to it. "Don't apologize."

"How'd you know?"

Blaine smiled. "I've been here, remember? I did the same thing the first time I told someone about my bullying. You need to get those feelings out somehow and unfortunately it seems that crying is sometimes the only way."

Kurt seemed to be responding well to hearing that someone else had been in his situation, but Blaine needed to steer it back to Kurt. "Does anybody know this is going on, Kurt?"

"No." But Kurt seemed to have decided that after losing it completely in front of Blaine, there wasn't any reason to keep things from him. "Unless, of course, you count the majority of the student body, including people who call themselves my _friends_, who watch me get verbally and physically harassed every day and do nothing."

Blaine winced at the bitterness in Kurt's words, but more so at the fact that people were _seeing _this and still doing nothing. At least Blaine's bullying was done more privately; Kurt made it seem like everybody could see what was going on, including -

"What are the teachers doing about it?"

Kurt shook his head. "Nothing."

"Excuse me?" Blaine was _sure _he had heard wrong. "Please tell me it's because they don't see it."

"No, they see it." Kurt's eyes were burning and Blaine knew he had been angry about this for a long time. "I just need to learn to stand up for myself, I can't let them have power over me."

His tone was mocking and Blaine felt the anger rising. "What kind of idiot told you that?"

"My Glee teacher. The same one who bailed out our pregnant cheerleader when she wrote a list defaming half of our club, stopped a couple of guys from getting expelled for slashing tires and constantly preaches equality and compassion."

Blaine shook his head incredulously. "Kurt, you need to get out of there."

And then Kurt deflated. "I can't. I can't afford to come somewhere like this, and even if I could, my dad doesn't know about it." He struggled with his words for a second before blurting it out. "He had a heart attack not long ago and I - I don't - I..."

"You don't want to cause him any stress," Blaine finished. "I understand that, but he'll be more stressed if he finds out this has been happening to you, Kurt. And if you don't do something, it's going to get worse, you know that as well as I do."

Kurt ducked his head. "I don't think I'm ready to tell him yet."

"I know. But you will be, and I'm going to help you get there." Kurt looked at him almost disbelievingly and Blaine knew. "I know, you've been let down before, right? Well all I can do is try to earn your trust and show you that I _care _about you, Kurt. I do want to help you."

Blaine pulled his phone out. "I'm going to give you my number. I won't make you give me yours, but I want you to have mine if you need it. If things get worse, please tell me."

Kurt nodded, pulling his own phone out. Blaine took it and entered his number as Kurt did the same for his phone. "Now, I want to try and make things easier for you. You need something to take your mind off things, and I would love to be that for you. Movies, coffee, musicals, just hanging out, you name it."

Kurt's jaw literally dropped and Blaine could almost read his thoughts: _Another gay guy wants to hang out with me, just because they can? _"It's up to you whether you want to. At any rate, I'll be at the Lima Bean tomorrow afternoon and if you want to -"

"I'll be there." Kurt's voice was determined, but relieved. Blaine smiled, and for more reason than one. While his primary focus was absolutely on making things easier for Kurt, he couldn't hide the sparks of interest he was already feeling towards the boy, especially when he smiled like he was right then.

"Now, Kurt... Hummel," Blaine checked the last name in his phone, smirking when Kurt chuckled. "Tell me a bit about you."

Kurt's smile was far more relaxed as he began to talk and Blaine immediately resolved to do everything he could to get that smile on Kurt's face more often. Because Kurt was worth fighting for - Blaine could tell that after one meeting, and the rest of his 'friends' who couldn't see the same absolutely did not deserve him.

* * *

><p><strong>So there's the happy-but-not-so-happy chapter. Perhaps the chapter that gave Kurt hope. <strong>

**Next Chapter: Burt.**


	3. Burt

**I was asked whether AU means Alternate Universe or Author's Universe. In my opinion, they're the same thing ;) but I've always been iffy with calling stories like this an AU anyway, because for me Alternate Universe stories are like the beauty of _Cirque De Joie_ by _Sharmain _where they're not actually at school. For example, in that one as you may be able to tell, they're a part of a circus. And that's clearly Alternate Universe. (Go read it by the way, it's absolutely gorgeous and my favourite WIP right now!)**

**So this, in my opinion, is more of a non-canon story. They're still high school students in Glee club, it's just not following the exact events of the show. Which means that 90% of Fanfiction is non-canon anyway. With the exception of future fics and writing out the actual scenes, not much Fanfiction writing is canon-compliant. So hopefully that... sort of explains. I don't know, it bugs me not knowing what to call this fic. I'm going with non-canon for now.**

**I know Burt and Carole initially used their honeymoon money, but if they were going to keep Kurt at Dalton, there would have had to have been money somewhere. This is my theory. **

**Figgins is principal. I can't remember when Sue took over, but I wanted Figgins to be there. By the way, for anybody who didn't know yet, his first name is Principal. No freaking joke. **

**This happens just before the first day of ****Invisible**_**.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Burt.<strong>

"Dad?"

Burt looked up from his newspaper to see Kurt standing in the doorway with Blaine, looking nervous. He immediately placed the newspaper aside and gestured the two in, not liking the look on his son's face. It was the same way he had looked when he had introduced Blaine as his boyfriend, except worse, and Burt's mind immediately went to scenarios he had never wanted to think about.

"Mr. Hummel, I want to start by saying this has nothing to do with mine and Kurt's relationship."

Burt let out a sigh of relief, not realizing it was audible until Kurt chuckled weakly. "Sorry, kid. Just you and that look -" he trailed off, realizing that if it wasn't about Blaine, then something else had happened to cause Kurt to look this nervous. "What happened, Kurt?"

Kurt glanced at Blaine who squeezed his hand reassuringly. The two sat down across from him and Kurt took a deep breath. "Dad, there's been some stuff going on that I need to tell you about."

Burt was leaning forward instantly, scrutinizing Kurt. "What's happened? Are people giving you crap again?"

"Yes."

It wasn't the answer Burt had expected or wanted. And he wasn't the most perceptive of men, but judging by that look on Kurt's face he knew it wasn't just a recent development. "How long?"

Kurt took another deep breath. "A while."

"Tell me."

So he did. Over the next half an hour, Kurt laid out exactly what had been going on over the past year of his high school life. Burt had been vaguely aware of the slushies but hadn't known how frequently they had happened. The dumpster tosses had him ready to go down to that school and order something to be done about it, but when Kurt got to the real issues at hand, Burt was speechless.

Kurt finished talking, glancing over at Blaine who nodded. He stood, removing his shirt and turning around. Burt had just about found words, questions, answers... but they failed him again as he took in his son's back. A lump formed in his throat and all he could think was, _I've failed my son. _

"Kurt, why didn't you tell me?" His voice was rough with the effort of fighting back his tears.

Kurt pulled his shirt back on and turned around, a tear slipping down his own cheek. "Your heart," he murmured.

Burt felt said heart shatter. "Kurt, I'm your _Dad. _I've told you this before, it's not up to you to protect me, I'm meant to protect you. And I haven't been able to, and that makes me feel like about the world's worst Dad right now -"

Kurt burst into tears and Burt stopped, kicking himself for making his son more upset even if he didn't know how. "You-you're not," Kurt stammered out between sobs, Blaine squeezing his hand tightly before releasing it and standing. He gestured to Burt who was in his place in a shot, wrapping his arms around his trembling son.

"It's okay, kid," he murmured gruffly, Kurt burying his head in his shoulder. "I'm not going to let you down any more."

He caught Blaine's eye over his shoulder and saw the boy watching them, a slightly wistful smile on his face. He caught Burt's eye and nodded. Burt nodded back, then mouthed a quick _thanks _to the kid.

Kurt pulled away, wiping his eyes. "Dad, I - I don't know if I can stay."

"You're not going to, Kurt. There's no way in hell I'll let my kid stay in a place like that where the staff does _nothing _to help." He looked up at Blaine, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Blaine, how much is tuition at Dalton?"

Blaine winced. "I'm sorry to tell you that it's probably at least triple what you're already paying."

Burt juggled a few numbers in his head before nodding. "I can do that."

Kurt's head jerked up. "Dad... how?"

"I've always wanted you to have the best, Kurt, so I've been putting money away for your college tuition. I know it means you might have a bit more trouble making it when you get to college, especially if you want to go to New York, but I can get you through a year and a half until you graduate, with a bit left over -"

The air was squeezed out of Burt's lungs as Kurt wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you, Dad, thank you," he murmured, and Burt felt the rush of emotion overcome him again. He cast another glance at Blaine who was looking relieved and knew that the boy must have been working with Kurt to get him to a stage where he could talk about these things.

But something was niggling on Burt's mind and, at the risk of upsetting Kurt, he still had to ask. "Kiddo, what happened to Mercedes and the others? I thought they were helping you through this stuff."

Kurt immediately turned to Blaine and the boy nodded. "Kurt's friends have decided he doesn't exist anymore, I'm afraid. And -" he hesitated, looking at Kurt again who shrugged. "That includes Finn."

Burt was on his feet straight away. "That boy told me he had changed! I'm not going to tolerate him under my roof anymore."

"Dad, stop!" Kurt was on his feet, grabbing his arms and pulling him back down. "Don't, at least not yet."

Burt sat, reluctantly. "What are you planning, kid?"

"Just wait until Friday. Blaine spoke to the administration at Dalton just in case we could afford it, and I can start Monday after next if you give them a call tonight and talk to them. I've got ... got plans for Friday and then I'll be straight out of here to Dalton."

"And I can talk to Finn then?"

Kurt nodded. "If things aren't fixed, yes. Just don't let it affect you and Carole, please? You're so happy with her. You can tell her what I've told you if that helps."

Burt shook his head, marveling at how his son could still manage to look out for him even with everything else going on. "Okay, kid. I'll talk to her. And I'll give Dalton a call, and then go in on Friday and pull you out and let that school have a piece of my mind." And Burt wasn't going to hold back. If he had let his son down, then the school had completely failed Kurt and they were damn well going to hear all about it.

"Thanks, Dad." Kurt wiped at his face again, laughing shakily. "I must look a wreck. I'm going to go clean up, be back in a minute."

Kurt darted upstairs and Burt immediately turned his attention to Blaine who looked worried. "Sir, I'm sorry I couldn't get him to tell you sooner, but the last thing I wanted was for Kurt to shut off again and -"

"Kid, I couldn't possibly be mad at you. In fact, I need to thank you for keeping my son safe." Burt cleared his throat. "Kurt means the world to me, and knowing I've got you looking out for him helps, a lot."

Blaine ducked his head. "I - I'm glad I can help, sir. I've convinced him to visit the doctor in a couple of days, just to get everything checked out. I hope that's okay."

"Of course it's okay. You're a great kid, Blaine." Blaine blinked in surprise, and Burt went out on a limb. "You don't have the best relationship with your Dad, do you?"

Blaine shook his head, his face dropping a little. "No, sir. He's not quite as understanding as you are of Kurt."

Burt leant across the gap and put a hand on Blaine's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "As long as you're with my son, you're one of us, Blaine. Even if you two break up, as long as you don't break his heart then you're still welcome. You need anything, you come to me, you hear?"

"I -" Blaine swallowed roughly and nodded. "I will. Thank you, sir."

"Enough of this 'sir' crap. Call me Burt."

Kurt walked back into the room just as Blaine lifted his head, a genuine smile crossing his face. Burt could see the delight on his son's face, and knew he had at least done something right as a father today.

"So, kiddo, going to tell me what you've got planned?"

Kurt sat next to Blaine, their hands finding each other's instantly. "The topic for Glee this week is honesty, and my wonderful teacher forgot to pair me up with someone. So, what better way to be honest than to have some help from my boyfriend?"

Burt looked at the two of them, then let out a chuckle. "You're going out in style, aren't you kid?"

"I wouldn't go any other way." And despite the circumstances, the three managed to share a smile. Because it was going to be okay now.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Hummel?"<p>

Burt stood, holding the transfer papers and walked into the office. Sitting down, he saw Principal Figgins smiling back at him, Sue Sylvester sitting across from him looking bored, and had to immediately squash his anger down.

"What can we do for you, Mr. Hummel?" Figgins folded his arms, still smiling. Burt shot a glance at the clock - Kurt had told him Glee would be out at four and it was five to now. No doubt Will Schuester would be heading straight down, and Burt wanted to make sure he was still around to give the man a piece of his mind.

"Tell me, Figgins. What's your bullying policy here?"

The man's smile faltered a little. "We don't tolerate bullying and any complaints brought to us are dealt with." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sue leaning forward slightly and turned his attention to her.

"Ms. Sylvester." Because no matter how mad Burt was, he at least knew how to talk to a woman. "How many cases of bullying are actually reported compared to how many happen?"

Sue nodded. "That's the question isn't it? For the record, I've done everything I could for Porcelain behind the scenes, but I'm not in a position to do any more without risking my own job. And I won't lie, I'm a selfish person so I won't do that. If you're doing what I think you are, it's the right move. I'll make sure Spongehair Squarechin comes down."

She stood and left, Burt shaking his head. Yes, the woman was vindictive and selfish, but at least she was honest about it. Kurt had told him about how Sue had at least stepped in between any bullying she had seen, even if she hadn't put a stop to things or reported it - which apparently she couldn't do because of her fear-inspiring reputation. But when the most hated teacher was the one who had helped his son the _most_... that really made Burt's blood boil.

Standing, he tossed the papers on Figgins desk. "Transfers," he spat out as the man glanced at them. "My son will not be spending another day in this hellhole you call a school."

He heard the door opening behind him and then, inexplicably, his son was standing beside him. "We finished a bit early and I thought I should be here for this. Schuester's on his way."

"Where's Blaine?" Burt turned to look at his son who looked pale but relieved.

"Waiting outside," Kurt gestured to the foyer where Blaine was sitting, his hands twined together. "Can we make this quick? I'm just ready to get out of here."

Burt nodded. "You okay kid?"

"Yeah. Just glad it's over." Kurt smiled tiredly, slipping his hand into Burt's. He squeezed back as the door opened again to admit Sue and a concerned looking Will Schuester.

"Kurt, you have to believe that I had no -"

"Can it, Schuester." Burt turned to face the man, pulling himself up to his full height and staring him down. "You always knew my kid was being bullied. Maybe you didn't know it was this physical, but you knew about the names they called him, that they pushed him in the halls and threw drinks in his face. You saw all of that, and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

Will's mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to find the words. Burt gave him a second, then continued. "I'm assuming Kurt told you he's leaving. I just handed in his transfer papers, which I know are in order. And if they're not, I don't give a damn. He's enrolled at Dalton and he's going there and there's nothing you can do about it."

Burt turned his attention back to Figgins who was looking between the two, frowning. "I don't know how you can call this place a school, how you can let kids come here and deal with this kind of _crap _every day. You should be ashamed, not just for running this place the way you do but for hiring teachers like him." He jerked a thumb in Will's direction who was trying to make eye contact with Kurt.

Kurt raised his head, still refusing to look at Will, and caught Sue's eye. "Thank you, Coach Sylvester. I know you at least tried to do something."

The woman nodded. "Stay safe, Porcelain. Make sure the hobbit out there looks after you."

Burt was about ready to have a go at her when Kurt chuckled. "I will." He turned, looking up at Burt. "Can we go? This place isn't worth my time anymore."

Burt took a vindictive satisfaction with the way Will winced. "Sure thing, kid."

With that, they turned and walked out of the office. Blaine jumped to his feet, taking Kurt's other hand and the three left the school.

Burt knew it was far from over. He still had to get Kurt off to Dalton and then deal with Finn. But the biggest problem was definitely dealt with. His kid was safe now.

* * *

><p><strong>I know a lot of parents wouldn't accept that their teenage child was going to 'handle things' themselves in a situation like that, but I've always thought the BurtKurt dynamic was very different. I think if Kurt said he wanted to do things a certain way, Burt would let him as long as his son wasn't at risk.**

**Next chapter: Finn.**


	4. Finn

**Now we're going to get into the simultaneous stuff. A lot of dialogue will be repeated over the next few chapters, just a warning. **

**I got a question about tuition. I didn't actually realize that public high school had no fees... so um... yeah. Disregard Blaine's comment about it being triple the cost. **

**I've been trying to work out where this story is set and this is the idea I'm basically working with. After the success of Duets, Schuester got them to do duets again which is where the assignment for the first chapter came from. The first half of Never Been Kissed happened, and then from there it's all AU. It was around Never Been Kissed when the rest of the club basically stopped talking to Kurt and forgot about him. So that's where it fits in to things if it were canon. Which it isn't. **

**And I know Finn and Carole got kicked out in Season One. I don't know whether they moved back in or not, but for the sake of this story, they did. **

**I hope I don't have to put this on every chapter, but this is just to be completely sure. Because of the events, and because of the story being non-canon, Finn is OOC.**

* * *

><p><strong>Finn.<strong>

The sound of footsteps faded, and the room was silent. A few seconds later, Finn heard Mr. Schue getting up and following. He took a few shaky breaths before looking up, wiping his eyes.

_What the hell just happened?_

"Finn, are you alright?" Quinn's arm was still on his back and she was looking at him, concerned. Finn could see the tear tracks on her own face and knew without looking that the rest of the club was the same.

"He shouldn't be."

Mercedes stood up, tears still streaming down her face. "What is _wrong _with us? We call ourselves a family and we let that happen to Kurt?"

"We didn't know -"

Mercedes glared at Rachel. "We _should have. _You saw the bruises on his arms as clear as any of us, yet somehow we were all seeing them for the first time. We let that boy down and I'm glad he's going to go somewhere that he'll finally be safe. I'm glad he has Blaine too, because he sure didn't have us." Finn could see Mercedes was fighting against her emotions to be able to speak. "I'm going to track him down and see if he'll accept an apology. And I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't."

As Mercedes turned, Sam stood as well. "I'm coming with you."

Mercedes nodded and the two left the room quickly. In the silence that remained, every eye turned to Finn. "What?" he snarled, glaring at them. He wasn't sure where his sudden anger had come from, but the way everybody was looking at him didn't quite sit right.

A few members looked away uncomfortably, but Puck wasn't having any of it. "Dude, we see Kurt a couple of times a day and I can't remember the last time I spoke to him. That makes me a pretty crappy friend. But you, Finn, you _live _with him. You're his _family_. What the hell?"

"Don't you start on me, Puckerman. I'm warning you!" Finn was on his feet, Quinn tugging at his hand to try and get him to sit down.

"Why shouldn't I? Tell us, Finn, do you and Kurt even talk at home anymore?"

Finn knew his silence spoke volumes. But instead of Puck responding, it was Tina who stood and addressed the group. "Face it guys, we've completely let Kurt down. It was only a few weeks ago that his Dad came out of hospital from a heart attack. He sang a duet on his own and then you guys told him to get lost and go spy at another school, saying that was all he was good for. And I think that was the last time we paid him any attention, wasn't it?"

Finn knew it was true. Without another word, he pulled his hand out of Quinn's and walked out of the room. Once outside, he all but collapsed against the wall, letting himself sink to the floor and forcing himself not to cry again. They had all been right. He had screwed up.

And he didn't even have an explanation for himself. Finn _lived _with the boy, for goodness sake, and he hadn't seen it. Any time Finn and Kurt were at home at the same time, they were in their separate rooms. Finn presumed that Kurt was working on homework or something and just left him to it. And at school... well, they lived together after all, why did they need to interact much at school? Everybody else he knew who had siblings didn't talk to them at school, why should he and Kurt be any different?

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, expecting some kind of text from Puck calling him a coward or something. Instead he saw his mother's name flash up on the screen.

_Finn. Please don't come home until 5pm. _

Finn gulped. He hadn't even _thought _about what would be waiting for him at home - of course Kurt would have filled his dad in on what was going on, and Burt would have told Finn's mom straight away. The only question was, how long had they known? When Finn thought about it, he realized that Burt had seemed a bit off towards him for about the past week or so. The fact that Kurt's dad hadn't known either at least helped Finn's case - he wasn't the only one who had been blind. Still, Finn knew he was in for it.

Sighing, Finn stood and made his way out to his car. He couldn't go to any of his friend's places since most of them hated him right now. He could go see Quinn, but he didn't feel like hanging out with anybody right now anyway. All he wanted to do was see Kurt and apologize, but the fact that he had been told not to come home yet probably meant that Kurt didn't want to see him.

Sitting behind the wheel, Finn let his head drop. He felt so useless, and it was all his fault.

* * *

><p>It was 5:27 when Finn finally pulled into the driveway. He knew he could have come home earlier, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to facing the fireworks. Kurt's Navigator was missing, but both Burt and his mom's cars were there. Offering up one last prayer to whatever deity may possibly like him, Finn killed the ignition and climbed out of his truck. Shouldering his backpack, he headed towards the front door, wondering whether he could possibly just slip straight through and go to his room -<p>

"Finn."

Finn forced himself not to groan aloud, shutting the door and turning to face the living room. Both adults were sitting on one of the couches, staring at him. Finn wasn't sure who was the safest to look at - he knew Burt would be furious, but his mom would be disappointed, and both would hurt equally. Instead he stared down at the carpet, scuffing a foot across it. _How bad is this going to be?_

"Finn. Sit."

Cringing a little, Finn stepped into the room and sat down across from the adults, still refusing to look at them. There was a moment of silence, then Burt's voice, low and dangerous. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out of my house right now."

_Oh. This bad. _Finn gulped, slowly raising his head to look at Burt, immediately wishing he hadn't. The man looked _murderous_. And Finn couldn't blame him, it was his son that had been beaten up and driven out of his own school. "I - I can't, sir," he admitted quietly. "When Kurt told us today, I was sickened with myself when I found out, and not because of what was happening... I mean, what was happening was _disgusting_... but I was sickened with myself. Puck got furious at me and I wanted to stick up for myself but I realized I couldn't. I _lived _with him and.. I didn't know -"

Finn broke off, the tears beginning to run down his face again. He couldn't bring himself to try and stop though - the only thing he could be ashamed of right now was his behavior. "I - I guess I'll go pack. Just... please don't throw out Mom. I know you love her. I'll... I'll find somewhere to go."

As he stood, his mother's voice quietly cut in. "Finn, wait." There was a moment of whispering, then a sigh from Burt. "Sit down," she continued. Confused, Finn turned back around and sat. "Burt is going out to Dalton tomorrow with some more of Kurt's stuff - he couldn't fit it all in his and Blaine's cars tonight, and he wants to say goodbye to Kurt of course. I want you to go with him and talk to Kurt. The final decision will be up to him - if he's willing to forgive you then Burt will let you stay."

Finn nodded. It was completely fair after all. "Thank you," he murmured. "I wanted to apologize to him, after all."

In the silence that followed, Finn stood and left. This time nobody called after him and he escaped to his room, collapsing on his bed. And now it was time for the biggest hurdle of all. _How do I apologize to Kurt?_

* * *

><p>Finn jumped in the front of Burt's truck, immediately on edge as the other man climbed in. It was apparently an hour and a half to Dalton, according to Kurt's boyfriend, and Finn knew the car trip definitely wouldn't be a silent one.<p>

Sure enough, they were only a few minutes down the road when Burt began to speak. "Finn, if this was the first time, you know I'd be easier on you. But we had that incident last time when you came into my house and ragged on my kid."

"I know, and I'm really sor-"

"But," Burt continued, acting as if he hadn't heard Finn, "this is a totally different matter. This isn't about words he's been hearing his whole life. This is about his safety, his well-being. Something I had thought that you and that Glee club of yours were going to keep an eye on. So I want to hear why you didn't. I want to know how my son practically turned invisible in that school."

Finn had been thinking about it himself. "Kurt... doesn't really fit completely with either side. The guys were always a bit edgy on how to treat him because of the homophobia that was drilled into us all the time. The girls love him... but he's not a girl, and they always know that."

"That doesn't excuse anything."

"I know," Finn said. "Nothing can and I'm not trying to." He took a deep breath. "I can understand how some of the other guys like Mike or Sam could have let him slip out of sight, but not me or Mercedes or Rachel. Especially not Mercedes, those two were meant to be best friends. I know the attacks on Glee club were getting worse - the others were getting slushied quite frequently... but I honestly don't know how we couldn't _see _him."

There was silence for a long time, and after awhile Finn started fidgeting in his seat, not sure what was coming next. When it did, it certainly surprised him. "You seem genuine," Burt grunted without taking his eyes off the road. "Kurt told me he started purposely distancing himself from the rest of you guys to see what would happen. I guess with everything else... he just did disappear."

Burt sighed. "Finn, I was a teenager once too. I know what it's like, your priorities are all screwed up at that age. You think football is your top priority, and having a girlfriend." Finn opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. It _was _true after all. "You don't notice guys like Kurt, no matter how much you're meant to. And no matter how angry I am... I can't take it all out on you."

Finn wasn't sure he was hearing things correctly. "Are... are you saying you're not going to hate me forever?"

"Kurt wouldn't let me." Burt shrugged. "Look, I know high school is a difficult place, but you _need _to sort it out, Finn. Family and friends always come before status, and you have to learn that now. You should have learnt it before it was too late, but you still have the chance to stick by that Glee club of yours."

"I don't think they want me," Finn mumbled. "They all hate me, especially Mercedes and Puck. Did - did Mercedes talk to Kurt?"

Burt nodded. "Her and some blonde kid. I gave them a few minutes alone and everybody looked a bit emotional afterwards. I don't think they're sorted just yet, but give it time and they probably will. Kurt's too forgiving for his own good."

Finn silently agreed, while the selfish part of himself just hoped that Kurt could extend the same forgiveness to him. "He said he was completely done with McKinley..."

"Done with the school, yes. Done with the overall attitude of people, yes. Done with every single last person... no, I don't think so." Burt took a turn onto the highway. Finn checked the clock, amazed that over half an hour had passed already. "Let me make this completely clear. My son's safety is my number one priority. He can forgive people all he likes, but if I think they're still going to cause him hurt or to get hurt, I won't hesitate on pulling them out of his life permanently."

Finn gulped, knowing what it would mean if he was one of those people. So far he hadn't been brave enough to bring up the topic of whether he was getting kicked out or not. He knew it relied on Kurt for the most part, but he also knew that Kurt would be living at Dalton five days out of seven and Burt still ran the house.

The rest of the car trip was silent. Finn thought he would be relieved when they pulled up at Dalton, but the tension in his stomach just got worse. _What am I supposed to say to Kurt now?_

And as they pulled into the car park, there he was. Kurt's smile changed into a frown when Finn hopped out of the truck, and Blaine stepped forward protectively. Finn lowered his head, knowing their treatment of him was completely justified.

"Blaine, please help my Dad get this stuff inside."

Finn glanced up hesitantly to see Kurt whispering something to Blaine, who gave him one last glare before grabbing an armload of stuff. Burt also gave him a stern look before the two walked away. And now it was just him and Kurt.

"Finn-"

"Kurt-"

Both boys paused, then, to Finn's surprise, Kurt laughed. "You first."

Finn could feel the tears welling up again. "Dude... I'm just... so sorry," he choked out.

There was a moment of silence, then Kurt stepped forward a little. "This conversation only takes place if you answer this question honestly, and right. _Did you know?_"

Finn shook his head immediately. "I had no idea, I _swear_. I would have put a stop to it if I had."

"Finn, how could you _not _notice!" Kurt's voice was rising and Finn winced, knowing this wasn't going to be a good conversation. "I was in that room every day with bruises. I was shoved in the halls, and I know it was in front of you at _least _once. You didn't talk to me for _three weeks_ until now. And you were in the next room over... how could you not know?"

At that last sentence, Kurt's voice dropped to a whisper and Finn felt the tears begin to run down his cheeks. "I don't know, I don't know, I wish I did but I _don't_," he babbled out, wishing he could say something to make it all better. "I just thought it was the standard bullying, I thought you'd _tell _me if things were getting worse. And you have _no idea _how much I wish I had noticed, Kurt. It's killing me, knowing I could have stopped this."

"Am I invisible?" Kurt asked quietly. "Is it that you don't want to know me, so you make sure to ignore me?"

Finn didn't even have to think about it. "Kurt, you're like my _brother _now. And yes, we've gone through some crap and I was an idiot to you and I should have been nicer and clearly should have paid more attention, but I want to _know _you. You're my friend now... or you were before I screwed things up."

There was silence. Finn chanced a glance at Kurt to see him staring into the distance, thinking. Tears had welled up in his eyes and seeing that only made Finn feel worse. He knew he couldn't expect any forgiveness from his almost step-brother, but he was praying for it. Finn knew he would do whatever it took to make things right with Kurt.

"I can't just... forgive you," Kurt said finally. "But I'll tell Dad not to kick you out. I think you could benefit from being in his house a bit longer anyway, he might help you sort out your priorities."

"He already is," Finn mumbled. "Thank you, so much."

"As for you and me," Kurt continued, hesitating for a second, "it's going to take a lot of time and work, and I won't be the one putting the work in, you understand? I can't trust you right now, and I know you don't like the past being held against you but I have to."

Finn nodded. "I know. I wouldn't ask for anything else, I don't deserve it."

The sound of footsteps had Finn looking up to see Blaine reappearing. The boy was still glaring at him, and Finn really couldn't blame him. "How did things go?" he asked, stepping up behind Kurt and wrapping his arms around him from behind. The look on his face was clear - this was a test to see how well Finn was going to react to their PDA. But Finn had no problem with it anymore, and hopefully it showed on his face.

"We're ... okay," Kurt replied, turning a little to smile at Blaine. "We will be, hopefully, anyway."

Blaine nodded reluctantly. "Well, your dad is up in your room waiting to say goodbye if you're ready."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for that," Kurt said quietly. "Finn... we'll talk when I come home next weekend."

"Thanks, Kurt." As Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him away, Finn drew up all of his courage. "Blaine?" he called.

The older boy paused for a moment before turning around, his expression unreadable. "Thank you for looking after Kurt," Finn said. "I'm - I'm glad somebody didn't let him down."

Blaine's expression relaxed ever so slightly. He nodded once before turning back around and leading Kurt towards Dalton. Finn waited until they were out of sight before slumping back against the truck shakily. Despite everything, he couldn't help but smile a little. He had failed catastrophically, yes, and things weren't okay. But at least this time he was going to try and fix things.

And now, Kurt was safe. And Finn would protect him this time, until the death. Because that's what family was supposed to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Mercedes<strong>


	5. Mercedes

**Apparently this one has been long awaited and I actually got requests from people on how they wanted/needed me to write this chapter. I can't make any promises that I followed all of your specifications, as I did have my own plan for how it was going to happen and stuck to that. I hope you all like it anyway.**

**You can now find me on Twitter and Tumblr. Links to stories as well as early releases, spoilers and sneak peeks are the perks of following me.**

* * *

><p><strong>Mercedes.<strong>

Mercedes watched with horror as the boy she was supposed to call her best friend walked out the doors, hand in hand with a boy who was apparently his boyfriend, after just admitting to weeks of abuse and neglect. _What the hell kind of planet have I been on?_

"Finn, are you alright?" Quinn's worried voice drifted down from behind her, and Mercedes felt her blood boil. She knew full well that _Finn _wasn't the one who needed - or deserved - any comfort. That person had just walked out the door, and walked out of all of their lives.

"He shouldn't be." Jumping to her feet, she turned her ire on the rest of the club, knowing that she was just as guilty as they were. "What is _wrong _with us? We call ourselves a family and we let that happen to Kurt?"

"We didn't know -" Rachel began before Mercedes glared at her, effectively silencing the girl for possibly the first time ever.

"We _should have. _You saw the bruises on his arms as clear as any of us, yet somehow we were all seeing them for the first time. We let that boy down and I'm glad he's going to go somewhere that he'll finally be safe." Mercedes felt her voice crack a little and fought back her tears furiously. No matter how upset everybody was, she didn't want the others to see her cry.

Glancing across the group, she saw Sam nodding in agreement with what she said. He was one of the few who actually seemed to realize what they had all done, and Mercedes felt her heart go out for him. He had only been with them for a few weeks after all, it wasn't his fault - and as far as Mercedes knew, he had been one of the few who had tried to accept Kurt as he was. Yes, he had let Kurt fade into the background too, but he was hardly as much to blame as the rest of them.

"I'm glad he has Blaine too, because he sure didn't have us. I'm going to track him down and see if he'll accept an apology. And I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't."

As Mercedes turned to leave, she heard the sound of someone standing behind her. "I'm coming with you," Sam said quietly. Mercedes nodded, not trusting her voice and walked out, Sam following quickly behind.

The second she was out in the hall, she broke into a run. Already too much time might have passed, Kurt might have already left and she might have missed her opportunity. Mercedes didn't expect that any apology she could make would be enough, but knew it was what she had to do. _I let that boy down, now I need to do everything I can on my part to make things right._

Rushing around the corner, Mercedes saw Kurt walking away from the principals office with Blaine and his father in tow. "Kurt!" she called out before she could think of the possible consequences.

Blaine was the first to turn around, giving Mercedes a glare so strong that she actually took a step backwards, bumping into Sam who placed his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. Kurt's father seemed all set to ignore her and keep walking, but Kurt tugged on his hand to make him stop, whispering something to him before turning and walking back down the hallway with Blaine. Burt waited down the end of the hall, fixing the group with a suspicious stare.

"Mercedes," Kurt said when he finally reached the group. Blaine took his hand again, staring them both down. Mercedes could see the protectiveness in his eyes and knew that he was exactly what Kurt needed right now.

_No, what Kurt needs right now is friends who didn't let him down._

"Sam," Kurt continued, directing all of his attention to the blonde boy standing behind Mercedes. "I didn't expect you here, to be honest."

"I owe you an apology as much as the rest of them. It doesn't matter how short a time I've been here, I should have seen it too." Sam sniffed and Mercedes realized he was crying. "I'm sorry, Kurt."

Kurt simply nodded before turning his attention back to Mercedes. She could see the pain in his eyes, just as raw as it had been back in the choir room, and knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Kurt," she began quietly, "I don't even know what I can say -"

"Tell me this, Mercedes," Blaine spoke up, stepping a little closer to Kurt. "You call yourself Kurt's best friend. Explain how Kurt could show up at my school as a _spy_ of all things and myself and my friends noticed _immediately _what was going on, while you seemed to have no idea?"

Mercedes was lost for words. She felt the tears start to fall again and looked down to see Kurt's knuckles white in Blaine's hand. "Yes, I've been through it before and I know the signs, but that is no excuse for you. You're _all _used to treatment like that - Sam, maybe not you as much - and you _know _the signs of it. Kurt told me he relied on you once upon a time, you were there for him. What changed?" There was a moment of silence, then Blaine spoke again, his voice growing in anger. "Tell me!"

"Blaine, it's alright." Kurt rested a hand on Blaine's arm, but Mercedes could hear his voice wavering. "She'll talk if she wants to fix things."

Mercedes knew Kurt well enough to know that this was her only option to talk. If she didn't say something now, Kurt would be gone forever. "I - I don't know. We just... sort of drifted apart. Everybody was thinking about their own thing, we've all been focusing on Sectionals and - oh, Kurt, I don't _have _an answer! I screwed up co-completely," a sob made its way out before she could stop it and she felt Sam squeeze her shoulders, "and I'm just ... just so - so..."

She lost it, burying her head in her hands as she began to sob. Sam was rubbing her arm soothingly as he took over. "I know you can't forgive us just like that, but believe me when I say we want to try and make things right."

Mercedes could only nod her agreement as she fought with her tears, finally getting herself under enough control to look up. Kurt's face was carefully impassive, a look she remembered so well from any time someone would slushy him or call him awful names in the hallway. It absolutely broke her heart to know that she was one of the people who had _caused _that look.

"Sam," he began quietly. "You've only been here for just under two months, yet you out of everybody came out here to apologize to me. You always just accepted me for who I was, you couldn't understand the homophobia. To you, I was just Kurt."

"You still are," Sam interjected.

Kurt smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I can forgive you, Sam. Obviously things won't be perfect but we kind of weren't _that _close anyway... no offense."

"None taken." Mercedes felt Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt glanced at Blaine, clearly drawing support from his boyfriend. "Mercedes," he continued, pausing for a moment. His eyes closed, and Mercedes knew he was visibly pulling himself together. The reason why became apparent the second he continued talking. "I can't forgive you."

Mercedes felt her heart drop like lead, settling somewhere in her stomach. Of course she hadn't expected Kurt's forgiveness, but to hear it like that was worse than every bad name she had been called in her life combined. She wanted to cry, to scream, to throw herself at Kurt and beg him for forgiveness, but she couldn't. She was absolutely numb.

"I don't want - I don't want it this way." Kurt swallowed thickly. "And I think in time, we could work on becoming friends again, on starting over. _That's_ what I want."

"Me too," Mercedes whispered. "You have no idea how much, Kurt."

Kurt stared at her, unblinking. "Then show me. Not just yet," he added quickly. "Right now I've got to get settled in at Dalton. I need some time to work through all of this and start to heal." Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt who visibly relaxed at the touch, and Mercedes knew Blaine was his comfort right now. "But maybe in a few weeks we can - talk. About all of this, and about whether we can start over again. You have to know it won't be easy though. You'll need to earn my trust back, and it'll be a lot harder this time around after... after everything."

Mercedes nodded. "I understand. It's more than I deserve. Do - do you want me to call you in a couple of weeks?"

"I - yeah. We'll see what happens." Kurt nodded at them both, offering Sam another smile before turning towards the door where his father stood, arms crossed. Blaine moved to follow, then stopped and fixed them both with an intense look.

"He's a far more forgiving person than I am. I'll trust Kurt's judgement, but if either of you do anything to hurt him that badly again..." Blaine trailed off, his voice low. Mercedes nodded quickly - for someone who wasn't quite as tall as the rest of the guys, he was certainly intimidating. Once again, she thanked God that he had sent someone like Blaine into Kurt's life right when he needed him.

As the two left, Mercedes saw Kurt's shoulders begin to shake and knew her boy had finally given in to his tears. _He's not your boy anymore_, she reminded herself as her own tears began to fall again. A second later she felt herself spun around and pressed up against Sam. "Go on, let it out. I've got you."

"Oh, Sam, what kind of monster am I?" she sobbed into his chest, feeling his arms tighten around her comfortingly. "I was meant to protect him."

"We all were," he murmured quietly. "But at least we're trying to make things right, and Kurt's going to be alright now. He's got a new school and he's got Blaine."

Mercedes pulled away to wipe her eyes, taking a shaky breath and looking up at Sam. The boy was pale, his eyes red rimmed, but he still managed to smile down at her. "Sam, why did you come?"

Sam didn't seem perturbed by the question. "Because the people who should have been coming weren't. I'm not saying I'm not guilty either, but I expected to see at least Finn and Rachel on their way out here to talk to him. I knew you would, but when they didn't, I decided that Kurt should know that there are others who are sorry too."

"You're a good guy, Sam." The words slipped out before Mercedes could think, but she knew they were true. Sam was an entirely different class of guy compared to the ones back in that room, one who would stick up for what was right no matter what it might cost him. The kind of guy Mercedes wanted to get to know better. "I'm not ready to go home yet. Do - do you want to go get a coffee and maybe talk about how we can fix this?"

Sam's smile was more genuine as he held out a hand. "That sounds like a good idea."

Mercedes knew she shouldn't be having the thoughts she was. After everything that had gone on with Kurt, she really didn't deserve happiness. But Kurt had Blaine to keep him safe, and if Mercedes had her chance to get Sam, then she would take it. At least then she might have someone to keep her grounded, to pull her up on things like this.

And at the very least, she would have a friend.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter: Rachel.<strong>


	6. Rachel

**So, I wasn't going to... but then someone said they really wanted to see Rachel's reaction to it all. And then I realized I had the perfect opportunity to do some Rachel bashing and couldn't resist. Let me make it clear right now: I don't like Rachel. She has her moments where she's tolerable... but really, I cannot find it in myself to like her. So I have unashamedly made her one of the main 'bad guys' in all this. **

**I also watched the Duets episode just before writing this, which might explain a few of my comments.**

**Just to let you know, there's no way I'm doing everybody's POV. There's too many people. So what I have planned after Rachel is Will, then the Warblers. So if anybody wants to see anybody else, speak now with a very compelling reason.**

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><p><strong>Rachel.<strong>

It was a couple of weeks until Rachel thought about Kurt again.

She, like everybody else, had been shocked by the revelations that had been presented to them that day in the choir room. Kurt's bullying had been known to everybody, of course, but never the extent or how much it had been affecting him. And the fact that he had a _boyfriend _who was their competition, and then suddenly left to join the competition... well, Rachel smelt something fishy. Of course she wasn't so awful as to say that Kurt had made up the bullying, but perhaps it had been a little more dramatized than he let on. After all, Kurt was dramatic by nature, of course parts of his story had probably been embellished to make them all feel worse. That's what she would have done anyway.

With Sectionals coming up, Rachel didn't have the time to think about Kurt anyway. He was probably happy enough do-wapping along with the Warbler boys anyway, and it was his fault that she was so busy anyway. As she had informed the rest of the group, they couldn't trust that Kurt wouldn't reveal all of their secrets and weaknesses to the competition, so she had been working night and day to come up with new ideas. And then Mr. Schue had gone ahead and put Santana in _her _solo spot.

So, sitting there at Sectionals and watching Kurt on stage, she suddenly realized that they had more in common than she had realized, and decided it was time to make amends. Not straight after their performance, of course, as they had some celebrating to do. But a few days later, she decided it was time to track down Kurt.

Finding Dalton was easy enough, but Rachel hadn't been prepared for quite how _big _it was. _Kurt must certainly love it_, she thought to herself, staring around at the elaborate entrance hall. Two of the boys she remembered seeing from the performance were walking through, holding hands, and she jumped at the chance. "Excuse me! Hi, I'm looking for Kurt Hummel?"

The blonde boy frowned, glancing at the dark haired boy. "Your name?"

"Rachel Berry."

He nodded. "I'll go.. tell him. Nick, you want to stay here?"

As he left, Nick fixed Rachel with a glare. "You're from New Directions, aren't you?"

"I am, but I'm not here to spy or anything of the sort. If I was spying, I certainly wouldn't have approached who I knew was my direct opposition, I can tell you that." Rachel wasn't sure where the hostility had come from, but this boy was definitely not happy with her for some reason. "Our tie at Sectionals was unexpected, wasn't it? I can assure you, if I had been the soloist we would have had a clear win, but that's what happens when things get changed by people who don't understand how to perform properly. I'd ask whether you were used to that, but I get the feeling that Blaine has been your lead soloist for quite some time."

Before the boy could reply, the sound of footsteps were heard approaching. The blonde haired boy reappeared with Kurt and Blaine in tow. "Here she is. Do you want us to stick around?"

"No, it's fine, Jeff. Thanks." Nick gave Rachel one last glare, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder before leaving with Jeff. "Rachel. To what do I owe the... _honour?"_

Rachel couldn't miss the way Blaine was standing, almost as if he wanted to protect Kurt. "I thought I should stop by and say hi, and congratulate you on your performance." Kurt's frown deepened. "Oh, and I wanted to let you know that I understand completely how you felt when you were at McKinely, it's gotten a bit that way for me now too."

Kurt's eyes grew wide. "What? They're attacking you?" He turned to Blaine who also looked concerned. "There's got to be something that can be done about this, those jocks need to know that they can't get away with this!"

Rachel frowned. "No, not the jocks. The Glee club have, once again, been neglecting my talent. I mean, you saw our performance at Sectionals -"

"No, I didn't," Kurt interrupted. "I didn't particularly care to watch it, so the entire Warbler group waited out in the foyer until you were done." He raised an eyebrow. "What, are they ignoring you? I didn't think it was possible."

_Wow, someone's gotten far more sarcastic since his transfer. _"Mr. Schuester decided that it was time for someone else to have the solo slot instead of me." Kurt looked as if he was speechless, and Rachel nodded confidingly. "I couldn't believe my ears either. And then he gave it to Santana of all people and I know that's why it ended up as a tie. I mean, you're very good," she told Blaine, "but you don't quite have my vocal power. So anyway, that's why I came to you. After what you went through, I figured you might be able to understand my pain."

Kurt opened his mouth a couple of times, clearly trying to find words that weren't forthcoming. Blaine didn't have the same problem. "Kurt, you know you don't have to put up with this. You came to Dalton so people like this couldn't get to you." Rachel frowned. _People like what? _"I can call security if you need me to."

"Wait, what?" Rachel really had no idea what was going on now. "What have I done wrong? I came here to set things right after you stormed out on us, and to let you know that if you ever want help choosing a song - assuming this group ever lets you sing - that you can always come to me."

She watched on, confused, as Kurt and Blaine swapped an exasperated look. Honestly, all she was trying to do was show Kurt that she still cared about him, despite his diva-ness. Why was that such a crime?

"Rachel, I'm afraid I don't understand. And I know that's normal when dealing with you, but I _really _don't understand this time. You ignored the bullying, you let me walk out, you didn't try to fix things or talk to me when it happened, you let it get past the point of _Sectionals_ before deciding to come and talk to me... and you're acting like nothing happened, like I wasn't beaten up or ignored or _hated _for most of my time at McKinley. What's your reason for coming here exactly?"

That was... actually a really good question, Rachel realized. She had come to Dalton, hoping that Kurt would emphathise with her about being neglected by the group, but instead found herself attacked. Other than that, there wasn't really any other reason for her being there, except perhaps for her and Kurt to sing one of their impromptu duets that always made her feel better. So she told him as much.

"A duet?" Blaine raised an eyebrow, an expression Rachel was fairly sure he had picked up from Kurt.

"Yes, she's always like this," Kurt explained. "Why a duet, Rachel?"

"Kurt, last time you were feeling lonely, we settled it by singing a duet together, remember? So I don't understand why you feel the need to keep holding this silly grudge - I'm reaching out to you here."

"Well, Rachel, not everything can be fixed with a _song_," Kurt spat out through clenched teeth, and Rachel was starting to realize that maybe he was still a little annoyed. "Maybe I needed people to _help_ me, instead of just singing with me."

Rachel shook her head before staring pointedly at Blaine. "Your boyfriend sings. You sang a duet with him in front of us which seemed to help."

"Yes, but Blaine and I _talked _a lot more than we sang. He actually helped me work through some of the issues that were going on and was there for me." Kurt took Blaine's hand, squeezing it lightly and receiving a smile from the boy. "We don't sing to solve problems, we sing to get feelings out."

"But you said Blaine helped you work through the issues? So that means you're over all of it and you can move on, right? No more diva tantrums?" Rachel clapped her hands together, smiling at the boys. _Problem solved!_

Or not. Blaine was staring at her, his jaw agape. "Kurt, can we please throw her out now? I honestly can't _believe _what I'm hearing."

"One more thing." Kurt's eyes were slightly red around the edges, a clear sign that he was about to cry. "Rachel, tell Blaine about your dads."

"Her... her _dads_? Please tell me you mean dad and step-dad?"

Rachel frowned. "No, I have two gay fathers. I'm sure you know of them via the ALCU. They've filed some -"

"Get out."

She blinked a couple of times at Blaine who was now full-out glaring at her. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not kidding. Get out of here now before I call security. I'm not letting you near my boyfriend again." Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt as a tear slipped down his cheek, pulling him close. "You, Rachel Berry, are a selfish person. All you ever do is think about yourself, and Kurt needs people around him who care about _him_. That's me, and that's the Warblers. We love Kurt as he is, especially me."

Kurt cut off Blaine by leaning in to press their lips together quickly. "I love you too," he whispered. "And yes, if she doesn't leave, we can call security."

"Kurt?" Rachel was finally starting to realize that things weren't going quite to plan, and Kurt wasn't acting how she thought he would. "That's a bit excessive, don't you think? You don't have to kick me out... I was only trying to help!"

"Rachel, your help is seriously misguided," Blaine said, turning back to face her. "You have no idea what Kurt wants or needs, you only care about you. So go back to Lima, go back to your choir where everything is about you, and enjoy the last few years you have left of it before you get into the real world and realize that it's _not_."

With that, Kurt and Blaine turned and walked away, leaving Rachel staring at them for a few minutes. Finally, she realized that sticking around might mean someone forcibly removing her and left, heading back out to her car for the long drive home where her thoughts would only be about Kurt Hummel and trying to work out where she had gone so wrong.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter: Will.<strong>


	7. Brittany

**So here's the deal. I got a job, finally, after months of searching in two different countries. But what that means is that I will have a lot less time to write, so I won't be able to write any more chapters for this story other than what I said I would write: Will, the Warblers and possibly one more follow up style chapter. So I'm sorry to the people who wanted to see other characters - and I think you managed to cover pretty much every other character in your requests! - but I won't be doing any others. **

**But when I mentioned to my beta, Angela/_SquirrelzAttack _that I got a lot of requests, I mentioned Brittany and she latched onto the idea and asked if she could write the chapter herself. Of course I said yes, so she sent me this over and I love it :) I hope you guys do too! And if you do, go and check out her work :)**

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><p><span>Brittany<span>

As Mercedes and Sam hurried out of the room, Brittany's frown deepened. She didn't understand what was going on, and Mercedes's little speech hadn't helped her confusion either. What was happening? Why was Kurt so upset? And why was Mercedes freaking out?

Turning to Santana, Brittany whispered, "What's going on? What did Kurt mean about bullies and leaving and stuff?"

Santana was rather ashen-faced, but she swallowed and managed to reply, "Britt…it's hard to explain. We, uh, well, the whole Glee club basically just betrayed Kurt and ruined his relationship with us."

"Betrayed?" Brittany hated it when people used long words.

"Yeah, it means we screwed up big time and now he hates us."

"He hates me?" Brittany's eyes began to water. "But – but I don't know what I did! I don't want my Kurtie to hate me. I just _don't understand_!"

"I know, boo." Santana wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

Brittany impatiently wiped at her eyes. Normally, she would be fine with Santana comforting her, but she felt differently now. She still wasn't all that sure what had gone down with Kurt, but apparently he hated her. And she needed to put that right, even if she didn't know how or why.

* * *

><p>"I still don't get it." Brittany said, biting her lip.<p>

There were several sighs on the other end of the phone, and it just made Brittany feel stupid and useless. After school, all of the ND girls, sans Rachel and Mercedes, had called each other. They'd tried to explain it to Brittany, but she was having trouble processing it all. It was a lot to take in, and the whole thing just seemed so surreal in the _worst_ way.

"Let me get this straight." She said, laying down on her bed, stroking Lord Tubbington with one hand. "Kurt's been hit and abused and bullied…and we haven't done anything about it?"

"That's about right." Quinn said quietly, her voice wobbling.

"But _why_? _Why_ didn't we do anything? And why didn't I know sooner?" Brittany felt tears of frustration welling in her eyes, and she let them fall, breathing hard through her nose. "How could we do this?"

Silence. It was like none of the other girls breathed. Brittany couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was _terrible_!

Choking back a sob, she said, "I'm going to find him and apologize. I don't want him to hate me forever."

"Britt, wait – "

She didn't wait. She hung up before Santana could try and stop her. Glancing at her alarm clock, she was relieved that it was only four. She still had time. Time to try and mend things. Time to get forgiveness.

She could barely see as she stumbled out of her house and into her car. Starting the engine, still swallowing rapidly, she pulled out onto the street. In the cup holder, her phone vibrated insistently, begging to be picked up. But Brittany ignored it and focused on the road, trying not to let her hysteria get the best of her. She really didn't want to crash into anything. Then she would be dead and Kurt would hate her for eternity.

It was hard to say exactly when she pulled up to Kurt's house. She wasn't sure how long it took, or exactly how she'd gotten there, but before she knew it she was knocking on the door, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

A large, burly man opened the door. He stared at her for a second before saying, "You in that Glee club?"

She nodded vigorously, looking at her hands, shaking. "I – I want to talk to Kurt."

The man's glare turned thoughtful and a little suspicious. "Your name?"

"B-Brittany." She stuttered, desperately wanting to back away but knowing she had to stay strong for Kurt. He nodded once, stepping back to let her in. She did so with trepidation and some major doubts; she didn't even know what she was going to say. She was led into a living room, where she was instructed to sit on the couch and wait.

"He's just upstairs – wait one second."

Brittany hiccupped quietly in response and folded her hands together, her eyes fixed on the stairs. It was a moment or two before Kurt appeared at the top, that dark-haired guy behind him. What was his name again? It started with a B…Blair? Blake? Brian?

"Who is _this_?" the shorter boy asked, glaring fiercely at her.

Kurt took his arm and led him the rest of the way down. "Blaine, this is Brittany." He said flatly, his eyes giving away his surprise at seeing her in his living room.

Brittany stood up, her courage wavering in and out. That Blaine guy was still glaring at her. It was extremely disconcerting, and she nearly lost it all over again. But now was _not_ the time to hyperventilate. She took a deep breath, pulled herself together, and started talking. She meant to be articulate and heartfelt, but it all sort of came out in a rush.

"Kurt, I'm sorry." She said, standing up from the couch and taking a couple of steps closer to him. "I'm sorry, boo."

Kurt eyed her, _bitch, please_ look firmly in place. "Brittany, do you even understand what I've been through?"

"No." she admitted, sniffling. Blaine snorted, and she wanted to be mad at him but couldn't bring herself to be. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Kurt and said, "I don't understand _anything_, and I'm sorry for that. But I don't want you to hate me. I just feel so _stupid_. Why am I so _stupid_? If I hadn't been stupid this never would've happened."

Brittany lowered her head to wipe away her fast-flowing tears. She wished that she was smart. She wished she could find a way to express how she was feeling. When Kurt didn't say anything, she pressed on, her voice a half-octave higher than usual. "I don't know what to say. But I don't understand how this could've happened without me noticing it and now you hate me and everything's just so _screwed up_. And I'm so sorry. I am _so_ sorry."

"How could you _not _notice? Blaine asked disbelievingly, his arm tightening around Kurt's waist. "You were there every day. You must've seen the bruises just like everyone else. And yet you did _nothing_."

"Blaine," Kurt murmured, "she doesn't understand."

"How could she not _understand_?" Blaine's tone turned incredulously angry. "Kurt, you shouldn't try and defend her. What do you mean she doesn't 'understand'?"

"I _don't _understand." Brittany said brokenly, choking on her own sobs. "And I know I'm stupid, but you don't have to rub it in my face. I'm just so _confused_. How could this have happened? I can't believe it. And I don't know what to do. And I'm _sorry_, Kurt, I'm just _so sorry_. And I don't know what else I _can_ be right now."

Kurt still didn't speak. He just stared calmly at her with an unreadable expression. Brittany felt like his gaze was piercing through her, and her already unsteady breath caught. She gasped and tried to get herself under control, but she'd pretty much jumped off of _that_ cliff by now, and she swallowed roughly. She searched for the right words, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "Kurt, don't hate me. Please don't hate me. You're my baby dolphin, and I'm your boo. I don't know what I'd do if you hated me forever. Please don't. Please, _please_ don't. Forgive me."

By this point, she sounded a lot like a mouse suffering from a bad head cold, but she could really care less. All Brittany wanted was for that mask that Kurt had on to break. She wanted him to show some emotion. She wanted him to let her know that he wasn't going to hate her forever.

"I forgive you, boo." Kurt said softly a few moments later, looking straight into her eyes.

"Wait – Kurt." Blaine touched his arm. "Are you sure?"

Kurt nodded decisively, slowly unfolding his arms. "Britt, I don't hate you."

"You don't?" she asked through another sob, almost unable to believe her ears.

"No." Kurt said simply. "I don't."

Letting out a half-gasping, half-bawling sound, Brittany lunged forward and pulled Kurt into a hug, wrapping her arms around his slender shoulders and squeezing him tight. She buried her face into the side of his neck, knowing that he would kill her if she got tears on his shirt.

There was an outraged exclamation somewhere off to her right, and she heard Kurt murmur, "It's fine."

The countertenor slowly raised his arms and awkwardly patted her on the back as she managed to gain a little self-control and stem the endless river of tears a little.

Pulling back from the hug, she gave him a small, watery, hopeful grin. "You're sure you don't hate me?"

"Positive." Kurt said, nodding slowly. He didn't smile, but Brittany thought she could detect a kinder look in his eyes. "You should probably get home now, Britt. Besides, Blaine and I need to finish packing my stuff and get on the road before Finn gets here."

Sniffling, she nodded and turned towards the front door. Opening it, she turned to glance back at her porcelain-skinned dolphin.

"Kurt." She said uncertainly. He looked away from Blaine, raising an eyebrow. Taking a deep breath, she said. "I'm going to miss you. Can…" she hesitated briefly. "Can we still talk?"

Kurt nodded slowly. "Sure, boo. Maybe in a couple of weeks, okay?"

"Okay." Brittany said, giving him another watery smile. "And thank you, Kurt. I love you. I'm glad you don't hate me."

With that, Brittany closed the door behind her, unsteadily walking down the driveway to her car. She wasn't sure if she felt much better. A little of the weight that had settled uncomfortably in her stomach had disappeared, and she supposed that that was the best she could hope for. Giving herself a firm shake, she pulled out onto the street and started to make her way home.

The only thing that mattered was that Kurt didn't hate her. She had expected him to. She probably deserved it. But he had forgiven her, and even said they could talk. And that was the best she could hope for. Brittany sighed. She had a feeling that, even though she had his forgiveness, she wouldn't feel better about _herself_ for a long time.

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><p><strong>There's just no way Kurt could hate Brittany.<strong>

**Next Chapter: Will. (I promise this time!)**


	8. Will

_**Sorry for the delay guys, this chapter was giving me some grief, as well as RL getting in the way. Hopefully the final chapter will come a bit quicker but I can't make any promises. And hopefully I haven't lost any readers in the delay :/**_

_**Just because I can, these events happen four weeks before Sectionals. Time frames are messed up on Glee anyway.**_

_**And this is a more serious issue when it comes to the teacher involved. As much as I wanted to have the standard showdown with Kurt, Blaine and the person, I didn't think it was appropriate for this situation.**_

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><p><strong>Will.<strong>

The second Kurt had left the room, Will was on his feet and following. He wasn't sure, but he had a hunch that Kurt was headed towards Figgins's office to deal with his transfers. At any rate, he needed to find Kurt and talk to him about this - namely about why Kurt hadn't actually come to him. He was his teacher after all, it was Kurt's responsibility to bring up any issues he was having so Will could follow them up. In a school of so many kids, how was he supposed to keep an eye on every single one?

A small part of his mind reminded him that the Glee kids were _his_ and he should keep an eye on them in particular, especially Kurt. But that thought quickly disappeared when Sue came striding down the hall towards him. "Look, can this wait? I need to find Kurt."

"You're damn right you need to." Sue jerked her head in the direction of the principal's office. "Porcelain is well within his rights to walk out of here and I'm glad he is. You've failed many times in the past, William. Your sense of style, your ability to stay lost in the eighties for _decades_, your stifling of creativity and subsequent release in the worst possible way - need I mention Britney Spears and Ke$ha? But this time you have failed not only as a teacher, but as a mentor. You promised these children a person to talk to, someone who would protect them, and you have failed the one child who needed you the most."

And with that she turned on her heel and strode towards the office, Will following numbly. As they arrived, Will saw Blaine sitting in the antechamber and tried to catch the kids' eye. But when Blaine looked up with the fiercest glare possible, Will quickly moved on and followed Sue into the office. "Kurt, you have to believe that I had no -"

"Can it, Schuester." Kurt's father turned to face him, looking just as angry as Blaine had. "You always knew my kid was being bullied. Maybe you didn't know it was this physical, but you knew about the names they called him, that they pushed him in the halls and threw drinks in his face. You saw all of that, and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

Will tried frantically to find something to say but there were no words. Burt was right, after all. The least he should have done was tell Kurt's father… and all of the kids parents at that. Bullying was bullying, no matter how minor, and most parents probably had no idea what was going on in these walls. It wasn't like the kids were going to tell them.

"I'm assuming Kurt told you he's leaving," Burt continued. "I just handed in his transfer papers, which I know are in order. And if they're not, I don't give a damn. He's enrolled at Dalton and he's going there and there's nothing you can do about it." Burt finally turned his glare to Figgins and Will breathed a quiet sigh of relief that the ire was no longer completely directed at him. "I don't know how you can call this place a school, how you can let kids come here and deal with this kind of _crap _every day. You should be ashamed, not just for running this place the way you do but for hiring teachers like him." He jerked a thumb in Will's direction. Will glanced at him then finally looked at Kurt, trying to get his attention so he could somehow make it clear that he was sorry.

Kurt looked up and Will put his best apologetic expression on, only to be completely ignored as Kurt looked straight past him. "Thank you, Coach Sylvester. I know you at least tried to do something."

"Stay safe, Porcelain. Make sure the hobbit out there looks after you."

Kurt chuckled and Will suddenly realized it was the first time he had heard Kurt laugh in… well, a very long time. _Has he really been this miserable for so long? _"I will." He turned back to his dad, once again ignoring Will. "Can we go? This place isn't worth my time anymore."

Will winced, watching as the two left the office to be joined by Blaine. They disappeared down the hall and Will knew without a doubt that this was the last time Kurt Hummel would ever walk in the halls of McKinley High. He was gone.

"William."

Turning back, Will saw Figgins and Sue staring at him. Figgins gestured for him to take a seat which Will did reluctantly. "William, in light of these recent events, action must be taken. Our students are not safe at this school and they do not _feel _safe because the teachers aren't looking out for them. That means you, William!"

"Look, I don't know what happened! The kids often have weeks where they don't want to talk to anybody - they're teenagers, after all, they go through mood swings. I usually leave them to it for a few days then try and talk to them, but I guess I just forgot to check on Kurt. I had no idea it was this serious."

Sue slapped a hand down on the desk loudly. "Wake up, Will! These kids are being terrorized in the halls and you did nothing about it. No, we might not be able to do anything about the verbal bullying but when it starts getting physical then we need to step in. If I had ever personally witnessed one of those so-called 'locker shoves', I would be hauling the offender out so fast that the sound of his victim slamming into the metal would still be ringing in the air. High school is a learning experience and no kid wants to learn that locker handles make intriguing shaped bruises on their backs."

Once again, Will was lost for words. "William, after what Mr. Hummel has told me, I have no choice but to suspend you."

"Suspend me?" Will's eyes widened. "But who's going to look after the other kids?"

"We have a new substitute teacher, Holly Holiday, who apparently loves to sing. She can take your class." Figgins folded his arms. "That decision is final."

Will stared at Sue who was surprisingly not looking smug, rather she looked serious. "How long am I suspended for?"

"Three weeks. After that time, we will review you and decide whether you should return."

Sue gestured towards the door. "I imagine your club are still sitting there having a pity party, you might as well go add to it. Or, hey, who knows, you might make their day. After all, no more Journey medleys for them to suffer through in silence."

Will wanted to retort, to yell at Sue and tell her that now wasn't the time for jokes, but there were no words. In silence he stood and left the office, heading towards the choir room. He vaguely noticed a slightly familiar figure further down the corridor, sitting against the lockers, but didn't pay him any attention.

Apart from the absence of Mercedes, Sam and Finn (and he should probably have made the connection between Finn's absence and the figure he had just seen right about then), the choir room was just as he had left it. "Mr. Schuester, what do we do?" Tina said as soon as he entered the room. "Did you manage to talk to Kurt?"

"Yeah, we need to fix this." Puck sounded worried and Will couldn't help but notice how protective the boy seemed to have gotten of Kurt. "What's going to happen? Is he coming back?"

Will pulled up a seat and sat down, facing the kids wearily. "Kurt's not coming back," he said quietly. "He's transferred." Tina began to speak and Will held up a hand. "And I'm not coming back either, not just yet. Figgins has suspended me as a result of this."

There was a moment of silence, then Puck nodded. "I understand that. No offense, but we really failed Kurt on this one and something needs to happen as a result."

"Wait a minute." Rachel stood, looking panicked. "What's going to happen for Sectionals?"

"Who really cares right now, Rachel?" Santana spoke up, surprising everybody. "You are so selfish - I thought you were one of Kurt's friends." She turned away without waiting for a reply. "How long are you suspended for?"

"Three weeks at this point." Will stood and began to pull his folders together. "You're getting Miss Holiday as your substitute until then - if you guys can work on getting some practice done for Sectionals, I'll work on a setlist while I'm gone and we'll collaborate when I get back." He hesitated, one hand resting on the piano. "Look after yourselves, and look after each other. I'll see you soon."

He didn't get any hugs goodbye or well wishes, but Will hadn't really expected it. The kids were just as shaken up as he was and this time they couldn't turn to him for help. He just hoped they could pull everything together for Sectionals - no matter how much Santana was justified in snapping at Rachel, Rachel might have the right idea. If they kept themselves preoccupied, it would be easier. Unfortunately Will wouldn't have the same luxury - three weeks of suspension would give him plenty of time to think about just where he went wrong.

* * *

><p>Having Sue Sylvester show up on his front doorstep was never something Will had expected or wanted to happen, but there she was. "Right, I've got an offer for you," she said, barging her way in with a stack of folders in her hands. "We'll discuss it over coffee. Black, ten sugars."<p>

Will raised an eyebrow but obediently walked into the kitchen and busied himself making coffee. The only reason he hadn't thrown the woman out or refused her entry was because he saw the name on the folders she was holding - 'Kurt Hummel.' And if Will could find out anything about Kurt, he was in. No matter how painful he knew a visit from Sue would be.

Luckily Sue cut straight to the chase after downing her coffee piping hot. "So Porcelain has been at Dalton for a week now, apparently settling in well there. But Figgins forgot to send through his official records so they asked someone from the school to take them down. I've been tasked with it and, quite frankly, I'm a lazy person. So I'm willing to offer you the opportunity."

"After everything that's happened?" Will couldn't help but ask.

"William, I come across as a vindictive and mean person. And yes, that's my nature. But the things I do are only ever done as reality checks - to show these kids that they're not as wonderful as they think they are. I never condone true bullying and especially not anything like what's happened to Porcelain. I believe that, in situations like this, you need to make right what you've put wrong. If I could get that Karofsky kid to admit what he had done, I'd get some consequences on him, but I can't." Sue dropped the folders on the table and pushed them across to Will. "If Lady will hear you out, I think you owe him an apology. And if not, you'll be dealing with a job that I can't be bothered to do. Either way, it works in my favor and that was my main reason for coming."

And with that, Sue was headed towards his bedroom. By the time Will had gotten the presence of mind to get up and try to stop her, she was returning with a few tubs of hair gel in hand. "And if all else fails, maybe Dalton will invite you to teach for them. After all, with your gel and sweater vests, you're practically a prime candidate for teaching teenage boys how to dress like businessmen stuck in the eighties. Why wouldn't they want you?"

Tossing the gel into the fireplace - thankfully unlit - Sue disappeared out the front door. It took Will a few seconds to get his wits about him again, which was generally the case when one encountered Sue Sylvester, but found himself smiling a moment later for the first time in the past week. Maybe now it was time to make things right.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the car at Dalton, Will couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. He was well used to the run down classrooms and graffitied buildings of McKinley and seeing a school that was so <em>fancy<em> was a whole new world for this teacher. Holding the folders to his chest, Will locked his car and headed towards the side of the building, following the sign that said ADMINISTRATION.

If the outside of the building had been fancy, it was nothing compared to inside. Will wished he was here on better terms so he could have the chance to look around - knowing Kurt's style, he was probably loving the extravagance of everything here. At least Will hoped Kurt was loving it at Dalton, because there really weren't many other options for him. As much as Will knew he was going to miss having Kurt in New Directions - and he really _would _now that he had taken some time to think about everything - he was just glad that Kurt was somewhere better.

"Can I help you?"

Will blinked back to reality, realizing he had made it to the administration desk. "Yes, I'm William Schuester from McKinley High, I'm bringing Kurt Hummel's transcripts."

The woman frowned, glancing down at a sheet of paper. "William Schuester… okay, I'm going to direct you to the principal." Without waiting for a response, she picked up the phone. "Mr. Hanson, we have a William Schuester here in regards to Kurt Hummel?" The woman nodded before hanging up and standing. "This way, please."

Will couldn't help but notice the frostiness of her tone after he had identified himself and briefly wondered at that. But they were already outside the principal's door and the woman knocked once before disappearing down the hall. After a few seconds, a short balding man with glasses opened the door, surveying Will before nodding. "Come in."

Entering the room, Will took the seat offered to him, trying to take in the grandeur of the room he had just entered. For a principals office - a room at McKinley that was constantly filled with delinquents who were more than likely to break things - it was very extravagant. "Mr. Schuester. May I call you Will?" Will nodded. "Excellent. I am Howard Hanson, you may call me Howard if you wish. Now, if you are here to visit Mr. Hummel, I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Will blinked. "I - uh, no that wasn't my purpose in coming, though I had hoped it would be possible. I'm bringing his transcripts." He slid them across the desk, the man receiving them with a nod and beginning to flick through them. Will let the silence ride for a few seconds before giving in to his curiosity. "Why can I not see him, if I may ask?"

"I'm afraid the terms of Mr. Hummel's transfer are too serious for me to just let people from William McKinley High come in as they please and talk to him." The papers were pushed aside and Howard turned to him seriously. "Will, when Kurt arrived here, he was silent. His father did all of the talking, Kurt just sat there holding Blaine's hand and not saying a word. Luckily Burt was willing to give me the details and I could make sure Kurt was looked after - not that that would ever be an issue, Dalton's zero-tolerance bullying policy means Kurt will be safe here. But I know what happened at that school of yours. I know about the bullying, I know about the negligence, and I know what role you played in it all. I cannot allow you to visit with him."

Will stared through the man, not really seeing him. "But I need the chance to make things right with Kurt."

"And Kurt needs the chance to have a good schooling experience." Howard's face softened a little. "Look, Will, we all make mistakes. Yours was a more serious one, yes, but it happens. And I know you want to make it up to him, but sometimes the consequences of our actions aren't what we want and no matter how much we want to, we can't fix it. I believe that if Kurt were to be visited by you, it would be detrimental to his well-being." The man sighed before reaching over to his intercom. "What I can do though is offer it to him. If he wants to meet with you then I will allow it."

Without waiting for an answer, Howard was talking on the intercom to his secretary, asking her to take the message to Kurt and wait for a response. An awkward silence descended on the room as Howard pulled the transcripts back in front of him, beginning to read. Finally he looked up again, a small smile in place. "His grades were excellent."

"How are they here?"

"They could be better," Howard admitted. "We gave him a general exam to see where he sat in terms of placement and he's ranking average right now, but I know he just needs to get used to the way things work here. Work loads are definitely tougher but Mr. Hummel is more than up for the challenge."

And with that, the silence was back. Will fidgeted in his chair, staring around the room again and trying to work out what he would say when he saw Kurt. _If _he saw Kurt.

The door opened suddenly and the receptionist poked her head around. "Mr. Hummel has respectfully asked me to tell you his answer is no."

"Thank you, Shelly." The woman disappeared and Howard turned to Will. "Well, I'm afraid that's that."

Will sighed, feeling the defeat sink low into his gut. "I suppose so." He stood, holding out a hand to shake with the principal. "Could you at least pass on a message from me?" Howard nodded. "Tell him I'm sorry."

"I can do that." The dismissal was clear in the man's voice and Will reluctantly left the office, making his way back out of the building. He allowed himself to glance back only twice, not seeing Kurt either time and not really expecting to. After all, it was over.

If Will had looked back that final time as he drove off, he would have seen two boys watching him leave. One close to tears, one offering as much support as he could.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Warblers.<strong>


	9. Warblers

**Well, we've reached the end of _Invisible_! It did take me longer to get this story completed than I would have liked but as a fluff writer generally, I did struggle keeping my own emotions out of this story at parts. And this was the first story where I started encountering some less-than-pleasant reviews, but I tried to keep that as a lesser factor in writing and uploading speed. It was a tough issue to write so I hope I did it justice.**

**Not only is this the Warblers, this is summing up everything that Kurt has felt over all of this - his reactions to having Finn and Rachel showing up at Dalton, Sectionals, and then just getting used to being at this different school. So we're actually looking at about six months.**

**Thanks for reading, darlings! I hope you've enjoyed it :)**

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><p><strong>Warblers.<strong>

"How do you want to do this?"

Kurt stayed silent for a long moment, thinking. He could feel Blaine next to him, so close that they could be touching, but Blaine kept his distance. Finally Kurt sighed and looked up, staring at the ornate wall in front of him. "Tell them."

Blaine frowned, reaching out to touch Kurt's hand tentatively. "Are you sure?"

"I've just come from a group where nobody noticed what was going on and I know part of that was because I didn't tell them. And I know nobody's going to hurt me here, but I don't want to join this group and feel like the outcast again." Kurt glanced across at Blaine who was watching him, smiling faintly but comfortingly. "Besides, these guys are your friends and you trust them. And they know about you."

The last bit was more of a question than anything and Blaine nodded. "They do. And they'll accept you, no matter what. You're not the only one who's been through hell in there, I promise. A lot of the boys behind these walls have come from wealth or came for the education, yes, but there's a lot who also had to come in situations like yours, like ours. I'll introduce you to Jeff. He'll understand."

Kurt closed his eyes for a second before wrapping his arms around Blaine and burying his head in his shoulder. Blaine held him tight, rubbing his back in slow circles. "It's going to be okay, I promise. You're not alone, no matter what happens today, you still have me."

Blinking back tears, Kurt lifted his head and kissed Blaine quickly, taking him by surprise. "I love you. And I… I trust you."

The fact that those words were harder to say definitely said a lot about Kurt and what he had been through. And Blaine understood, pulling Kurt back in close and holding him again, showing him without words that it was okay. But Kurt pulled away only a few seconds later, wiping his eyes quickly. "They're waiting for us, aren't they?"

"It's okay, I think they know that there's extenuating circumstances." Kurt stiffened a little - even though they were just about to walk in there and tell these people what those circumstances _were_, it was just a little bit frightening knowing that they could already know - and Blaine murmured soothingly. "It's okay, not like that. We don't usually get mid-semester transfers unless there's an important reason behind it. And they won't push it if you choose not to talk about it either - I didn't start telling people until six months after I arrived. But you're braver than me."

Kurt shook his head. "No way."

"Yes way," Blaine countered firmly. "But that's a discussion for another day. Are you ready?"

"Sort of… no," Kurt admitted, standing. "But I never will be."

Blaine took his hand again, rubbing his thumb across the back of Kurt's hand softly. "I know. But I'm going to take care of you." And with that, Blaine led Kurt to the door and knocked, waiting for a response.

A moment later, the door swung open to reveal Wes. "Blaine, Kurt, welcome. Come in." Before they could enter, Blaine leant over to whisper something in Wes's ear whose eyes widened. "Is he sure?" Blaine nodded, glancing at Kurt who attempted to smile and Wes's gaze softened. "Okay, that's not a problem. You can have the floor."

As they entered the room, Kurt quickly took in the surroundings. The room was just as elaborate and detailed as the rest of Dalton - something he would normally admire in much more detail if his palms weren't sweating and he wasn't trying to stop his hands from shaking. Sitting around on various couches and seats was about twelve teenage boys, all dressed immaculately in the Dalton uniform, staring at him. "Hi guys," Blaine said cheerfully, stopping in the middle of the room. "This is Kurt, he's just transferred and he'll be joining us in the Warblers from now on. But before he does, we just wanted to talk about why Kurt's transferred." Blaine glanced over at him and Kurt nodded. He knew he couldn't say the words himself, but even hearing them coming from Blaine was going to be difficult. "Okay, so Kurt's come from McKinley High, who are actually our competition at Sectionals as we all know."

Murmuring immediately filled the room. "He's not a spy, is he?" came from one of the boys before a dull thud rang out.

"Seriously?" asked another, lowering his hand from where he had hit the first boy. "If he were a spy and Blaine _knew_, do you think he'd be letting him in?" He shook his head, turning back to Kurt and smiling, and Kurt noticed his hand was linked with another boys. "Sorry about Cameron, he's a few sandwiches short of a picnic sometimes. We're honestly glad to have you Kurt and anything you want to tell us, we're all ears."

"Thanks, Nick," Blaine said, shooting Kurt another glance. Kurt was only hoping he hadn't turned pale. "No, Kurt isn't a spy. He's here because he has no other choice - McKinley isn't safe for him."

That certainly got everybody's attention. Cameron immediately looked apologetic and a few of the other boys seemed to have caught on to what was going on. Kurt knew there were three boys sitting behind them as well and found himself wondering about their reactions - after all, they were the Council and they could easily decide that Kurt was too unstable to become a Warbler. "To those who don't know," Blaine continued, "Kurt is actually my boyfriend. And anybody who recognizes him, that would be because he came to spy here a few weeks ago at the insistence of his old Glee club and we confronted him about it. And when we did, the truth came out about what really brought Kurt here." Blaine paused for a second and Kurt squeezed his hand impatiently. Now that he had started, Kurt just wanted it finished. "Kurt was being bullied badly at his old school because of his sexuality, and this is mental, emotional and physical bullying I'm talking about. But on top of that, none of his so-called-friends or fellow Glee club members seemed to notice or care. Kurt had nobody to talk to, nobody who tried to help him or understand what was going on."

Kurt sniffled before he could help himself, fighting so hard to keep the tears at bay. The last thing he needed was to start crying like a baby in front of all of these people, no matter how understanding Blaine said they were. He stared down at the floor, tracing patterns with his eyes and waiting for Blaine to finish.

"The reason we're telling you this is because we want Kurt to feel like a part of the group and Kurt feels like he can't do that unless you know what life's been like for him. All I ask is that you accept him like you accepted me when you found out my story," Blaine's words caught slightly but he continued, "and treat him just like anybody else.

For a few moments, there was absolute silence and Kurt just wanted to sink into the floor that he was staring so resolutely at. And then a flash of movement caught his eye and Kurt glanced up to see the blonde-haired boy with his hand raised. "Um," came Wes's voice from behind them, sounding confused, "yes, Jeff?"

"Seriously, can I just hug Kurt right now?"

Kurt couldn't help but let out a tearful chuckle because _really? _He glanced at Blaine who was smiling almost knowingly and even though, apart from Blaine and his family, it had been _so _long since someone had touched him in a good way, his answer was immediate. "Yes, please."

It wasn't just Jeff that came to hug him though - first Nick, then half of the Warblers were crossing the room. But it was when all three Council members left their desk to hug him that Kurt started crying because Blaine had warned him about these guys, that they were the nicest guys around until you put them behind that desk, and they _still _wanted to hug him.

_So this is what unconditional acceptance is like._

* * *

><p>It took approximately five seconds after his father leaving for Kurt to start crying and he probably would have collapsed on the floor in the foyer right there and then if Blaine hadn't caught him. Kurt had put on his best brave face when he was talking to his step-brother but that had hurt <em>so much<em>, seeing Finn stand there and not have any answers for his behavior. And combined with saying goodbye to his dad - and yes, he was going to see him in a week but _still _- Kurt couldn't handle his emotions.

"Shh, it's okay, come here." Blaine pulled him close, allowing Kurt to bury his head in his shoulder. "I know, I know it hurts but you're going to be okay. I love you _so _much."

Kurt was vaguely aware of the sounds around him - the foyer which had been bustling with students was getting quieter by the second and Kurt heard what sounded suspiciously like David's voice barking orders at students and telling them to clear the room. And then there was silence and Kurt had to look up to see what was going on.

David, Thad and Cameron were all still in the foyer which was now empty of other students. Cameron appeared to be arguing with some students who were wanting to get through while Thad and David were sitting on the stairs, talking calmly like it was completely normal for them to clear an entire foyer simply because a student had started crying. And then David glanced up and caught his eye and Kurt had to suck in a breath because there was absolutely no judgement there, no teasing, not even a hint of impatience for the task they had just had to complete. David just smiled slightly before turning back to Thad, making it clear that Kurt had all the time he needed.

"You okay?" Blaine asked and Kurt pulled back to look at him, sniffling. "Stupid question. You're not, I know."

Kurt had to smile, even as more tears spilled over. "No, but being here helps. Especially with…" he trailed off, waving a hand around at the foyer.

"I told you we're all looking after you. Nobody wants to see you hurting, but we all know things won't get better overnight so we're all just doing our best to make things easier for you."

And yeah, now there was no way Kurt was going to stop crying for quite some time. Blaine's grip tightened around his waist and they stayed there, holding each other for a long time, knowing there was no worry about being interrupted. Finally Kurt pulled away a little, not wanting to let go of Blaine. "I must look awful."

Blaine lifted a hand gently to wipe the tears from Kurt's cheeks, kissing a few away. "Never," he said softly. "And you know how proud of you I am, don't you? You're not hiding away or pretending you're not hurting and that's _courage_, Kurt. And every single day you're getting that little bit stronger, you're healing that little bit more and it's getting easier. At least, I hope it is?"

Kurt nodded. "Of course it sucks when people show up out of the blue like that but at least I know I have a home here."

Blaine kissed him, just a gentle brush of lips together before pulling away. "Come on. I think a movie afternoon is in order."

Smiling, Kurt allowed Blaine to lead him towards the staircase where the three boys were sitting. As they stood, Kurt stopped and turned to them. "I - thank you," he said quietly, wishing he had the words to express what it really meant, that it was more than just the action but the fact that they had just _done _it and that was _normal _here and Kurt had a lot of adjusting to get used to but in such a good way.

"You're welcome, Kurt," David said. "Can we help at all?"

"You already have."

The three boys nodded and thankfully left it at that, disappearing down the hallway as David began telling some story about his girlfriend. Kurt turned to Blaine who was watching, smiling. "How is this normal?"

"Dalton's a wonderful place," Blaine said simply. "Not everybody is as understanding as the Warblers though. We've all been through a lot together and we understand - there's a lot of us in there who have broken pasts and we need each other a lot of the time."

And now Blaine's voice was sounding suspiciously choked up and Kurt shook his head, pulling him closer. "Okay, we're not having a crying fest this afternoon," he told him, pressing a kiss to Blaine's temple. "Can we go watch something really stupid and forget that the world sucks outside of this place?"

Blaine grinned at that. "Absolutely."

* * *

><p>As the Warblers piled offstage, laughing and swapping high-fives, Kurt's smile faded as he heard the announcement. Of course he<em> knew <em>New Directions would be up next but he hadn't really thought about it. Kurt had done his bit to avoid the group but there was no way he would be able to sit there and watch them all perform, but the last thing he needed was to draw attention to that fact, especially with the Warblers on their post-performance high. So as the rest of the Warblers made their way straight back into the auditorium, Kurt slipped away quietly and disappeared out into the foyer.

Kurt knew it would only take Blaine a few seconds to realize what was going on and follow. Sure enough, just as Kurt took a seat on the floor with his knees tucked into his chest, there was another body sliding down the wall to sit next to him. "I didn't think you'd want to watch them."

Sighing, Kurt leaned into Blaine's shoulder, feeling his boyfriend's arm wrap gently around his waist. "Does this make me weak?" he had to ask, because he was definitely feeling it.

"It makes you sensible, Kurt. If it hurts you to see them, you are under no obligation to do so."

"Our sentiments exactly."

Kurt jumped, glancing up to see the entire Warbler group standing in front of them. "What are you guys doing here?"

Wes actually rolled his eyes at that. "Do you think we're going to sit in there and watch the group that upset you this badly perform? We're a team, Kurt. We stick together."

"Plus, there's food out here!" Cameron called out, already halfway to the canteen. "Food always wins."

Kurt stared as the rest of the Warblers began milling around the foyer, taking seats and chatting about their performance. Nick and Jeff sat down right in front of them, Jeff reaching out to take Kurt's hand. "You're doing a really good job, Kurt," he said reassuringly. "It takes time, but you're doing way better than I was."

"Or me," Blaine chipped in.

Kurt just shook his head. "I can't get over this. You're all willing to miss their performance simply because I can't watch them?"

"Of course we are," Nick said instantly. "I know some of them saw us leaving, Kurt. This is a way for us to show them how much we disapprove of how they treated you and to show them what a real club is like. We take care of each other. Sometimes we come across as stuffy and boring and like we can't have fun, but a lot of the time that's because we need to focus on what each individual member needs. We have one set of rules and we stick to that because that means it's fair for everybody."

Kurt nodded slowly, taking in the words. It was true that, no matter how accepting the boys had been, Kurt's first week in the Warblers had been quite difficult to wrap his head around. To not be able to get up and sing whenever he wanted was a huge change, as was taking a backseat a lot of the time. But he felt like part of a _team_, that he wasn't in the background because nobody noticed him, but he was on the same level as everybody else. And even though Blaine was the one who got all of the solos, it wasn't that he was any more important than anybody else, simply that bit more talented. Considering Blaine was the kindest and most humble person Kurt had ever met, he could accept Blaine's constant solos easily. Besides, after so long Kurt wasn't sure how ready he was to get up there and sing again. It had been so long, after all.

The music could be heard very faintly from the auditorium and Kurt couldn't help but listen. "_Time Of My Life,_" he murmured. "Interesting choice. It doesn't sound like Finn and Rachel though…"

"I saw a blonde couple up the back when we came out," Nick offered.

Kurt raised an eyebrow, listening again. "My goodness, he actually did."

"Quinn and Sam?" Blaine asked and Kurt smiled. Blaine knew nearly as much about New Directions as Kurt did by now. "That's a good sign, at least."

And then the music switched, a tune Kurt couldn't miss. "_Valerie? _But Rachel couldn't sing… Santana?" He turned to Blaine who looked amused. "He didn't give Rachel a solo? She's going to be furious."

"Good," Blaine said simply. "Maybe it's time that they see that they shouldn't take everything for granted. Things change." Kurt knew how much more there was to Blaine's statement and let his head drop back onto his boyfriend's shoulder with a sigh. Blaine was running his hand along Kurt's arm gently and Kurt focused his breathing in time with the action, allowing himself to calm down and remember how safe he was.

Perhaps a little too calm, because the next thing Kurt knew was Blaine's voice in his ear. "Kurt? Hey, I didn't want to wake you but they're announcing in a minute. You don't have to go in there -"

"I want to," Kurt mumbled, lifting his head. "Is my hair a mess?"

Blaine laughed softly. "No, you're gorgeous as ever, I promise." He stood and held out a hand for Kurt to take, pulling him to his feet. "We'll stand as far away from them as possible."

A couple of the New Directions members tried to catch Kurt's eye as he walked onto the stage. He offered Sam a half-smile, Brittany a wave, Mercedes a shallow nod - the girl hadn't contacted him since he had left and Kurt wasn't quite sure what to think about that - and avoided eye contact with all of the others altogether. Finn was a different story as the two of them were beginning to work things out in the privacy of their home, so Kurt really didn't want to attach memories of him to this group. Instead he stared straight forward into the audience, hand in hand with Blaine, and waited.

A tie. Of course it would be a tie.

The Warblers basically formed a protective guard around Kurt as they left the stage, headed straight for their minibus. Only when they had all climbed on and Wes had given his usual post-performance mini-speech (with the real one reserved for the following day, apparently) did the others disperse and leave Kurt and Blaine alone.

"You okay?"

Kurt nodded, staring out the window. Blaine rested a hand on his arm and Kurt leant back into the touch. No words needed to be said - Kurt would heal in his own time. Until then, he had Blaine and the Warblers to take care of him, to hold him up until he wasn't going to fall anymore.

* * *

><p>Kurt knew without a doubt that Nick and Jeff would be waiting for them as they walked away from Rachel, Jeff immediately taking the hand that wasn't wrapped around Blaine. "We really didn't want to make you do that," Nick said, the apology clear in his words. "But we know you would want the choice."<p>

"It's okay," Kurt said quietly, feeling more drained than anything. Apart from that one tear that had slipped out, Kurt hadn't cried any more, no matter how hurt he was inside. No matter how difficult things had been with Rachel, Kurt had always known she was the person he was most like at McKinley - self assured about their talent, determined to get things their way, but still so insecure inside. Kurt had thought - almost dared to hope - that Rachel would be the one to understand, to apologize. But she had been the worst of all of them.

"What happened?" Jeff asked. Out of all of the Warblers, only Blaine and Jeff were confident enough to actually ask Kurt for details about people or situations, both having been there before. Kurt hadn't managed to draw up the courage to ask Jeff exactly what he had been through, but the empathy in his expressions whenever Kurt talked about a lot of the bullying was enough for Kurt to know that it had been serious.

Blaine glanced at him, clearly wanting to know whether he needed to explain on Kurt's behalf. "Rachel was basically just her same old selfish self," Kurt said. "I don't think she ever thought about how much I was hurt, only about how it affected her."

Nick growled and Kurt looked up, surprised. He knew Nick was very protective, just like Blaine was of him, but Kurt had never seen that protectiveness for anybody but Jeff before. "I knew there was something wrong with that girl from the moment I met her," he said. "I'm sorry, Kurt."

"Same," Jeff said, squeezing his hand.

Kurt smiled ruefully. "It's okay. That's the last time I'll voluntarily have anything to do with her, and I hope she got the picture. I'm done with that stage of my life, I'm not going back to McKinley and I have you guys now. Rachel will always be selfish, but she's also alone and what I have is worth more than any solo."

Another thing Kurt would have to get used to was impromptu Warbler hugs, and the way that the rest of the group seemed to somehow know that one was in progress. Or perhaps they had just walked into the choir room and Kurt hadn't realized. Either way, being surrounded by half a dozen teenage boys was something Kurt might never get used to, especially when one of them was his boyfriend who looked so proud that he might burst. "I love you," was whispered in his ear.

Kurt smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

><p>Life went on. It always does.<p>

Kurt slowly found his place in the Warblers - not the lead soloist, not a background singer. It took a few months before he felt ready to try and audition for a solo, just in time for Regionals. And as soon as the Council heard his and Blaine's rendition of _Candles_, they were sold and the first Warbler duet was set to be performed.

Of course they lost. Ohio just wasn't ready to see what Blaine and Kurt were prepared to show them. But they lost as a team and Kurt had never been happier to lose. And watching New Directions perform, Kurt could tell that they were broken again and was thankful that he had gotten out, wondering what kind of person he would be if he had stayed.

So the Warblers settled back into their post-performance schedule. Occasional performances here and there, but most of their rehearsal time spent having fun, singing songs that they would never sing in public. Kurt finally got his wish for the group to sing _Rio_ to the overwhelming applause of the student body, but the subsequent request to sing it at their next mall performance was denied. And Kurt could live with that.

Senior year was coming and Kurt knew there was no way he was going back to McKinley for it. He had always imagined what Senior year would be like at that school - he would be on top but still on the bottom, still not respected, still so very hated. Here, Kurt was shaping up to be one of the most well known boys in the school and quite possibly the most popular Senior. Of course he would always be overshadowed by his boyfriend, but since Blaine was a Junior, Kurt couldn't really be that upset about it. Nor could he really be upset by anything Blaine did.

Their relationship was constantly moving forward, growing in trust and respect and love every single day. Once Kurt was at a point where he didn't just need Blaine, he realized how much he could be what Blaine needed as well and together they began to work through both of their pasts, their demons. They had their bad days, their fights, just like any couple. But they worked through. And somehow both of them knew that this was forever.

If Kurt had been asked a year ago if he thought he would be happy singing in an a capella choir with someone else as the lead constantly, watching as his old Glee club went to Nationals in _New York_, he would have told them they were out of their mind. There was no way Kurt could be happy if he wasn't being his individual self and that meant in every single aspect - no uniform, no supporting singing roles, no losing.

But Kurt was happy. Happier than he had ever been in his life.

* * *

><p>"So, Wes. Very serious question here."<p>

Wes glanced up, concern crossing his face and Kurt found himself torn between sighing and smiling. Even after six months with the Warblers, they were all still looking out for him at every opportunity and some treated him just a little too much like he was fragile at moments. Still, the fact that they cared so much was something that never ceased to amaze Kurt. Instead, he smirked back at his friend. "As a Council member, you've gotten to choose the songs all year and who sings them, right?

"We have," Wes said, the sad smile appearing that always did whenever someone reminded him that he was graduating in less than a month.

Kurt allowed his smirk to grow. "So if I was on the Council next year, I'd be able to give myself all the solos I want?" Blaine elbowed him and Kurt sighed. "Okay, I'd be able to give myself and Blaine all the _duets _we want?"

"Much better," Blaine said sleepily, snuggling back into his shoulder.

Wes rolled his eyes. "Only you, Kurt. Technically yes, but I don't think you'd last long. Is this your way of saying you want to be on the Council?"

"I severely doubt that I'd get voted in."

This time it was David's turn to roll his eyes. "Are you serious? You'd be on the Council in a heartbeat, Kurt. The guys love you."

Kurt paused. "I - really? You honestly think…"

David glanced at Wes, having a silent conversation with their eyes and making Kurt severely doubt their heterosexuality as he always did when they were together. "We have to put forward our favourite candidates for the positions and that gets given serious consideration. We were wanting to put you forward but weren't sure if that was something you'd like."

Blaine had clearly felt him stiffen as his head came up. "Baby, you know you don't have to do this if you don't - are you crying?"

Kurt ducked his head. "I should be used to it by now but… wow. Back at McKinley, there's no way I ever would have gotten something like this. This isn't just a solo or a one off performance… this is _big_."

"It's yours if you want it," Wes stated, sounding completely confident in that even though they hadn't even put it by the other students.

Kurt laughed shakily. "I would love it, if you'll have me."

"Always," David said. "Just the way you are."

* * *

><p>Straightening his blazer, Kurt took a deep breath before pushing open the doors to the room. All noise ceased instantly as he stepped through the doorway, glancing around. His eyes met a pair of beautiful hazel, glittering with so much emotion that Kurt had to fight back a smile. Familiar faces stared back at him, but there were many new ones, ones that Kurt would look forward to meeting.<p>

Glancing up to the Council table, Kurt smiled at Nick and Trent who were sitting on either side of the middle seat.

The middle seat that was empty.

No further encouragement needed, Kurt took the final steps over and sat down, picking up the gavel. One second to marvel at how _right _it felt in his hand before bringing it down on the desk, even though the room was already silent.

"Welcome to the Warblers," Kurt said, looking out across the room. "My name is Kurt Hummel and I'll be your Head Warbler this year."

He was home.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I teared up writing the last three sections. My love for Kurt Hummel is only overshadowed by my love for Chris Colfer, and I have struggled so much writing so many chapters where Kurt has been so hurt. But now he's happy and loved and my goodness I have so many feelings.<strong>

**Thank you so much for reading. **


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